


Step by Step

by TheOfficialKai517



Series: New Steps [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: F/M, Mentions of Drinking & Abuse & Non-Con, Mild Language, Moon, Not Canon Compliant After Season Two, Older Varian (Disney)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2020-09-23 09:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20338054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOfficialKai517/pseuds/TheOfficialKai517
Summary: Things have changed.Rapunzel and Eugene are now newlyweds, Cassandra is a single mother, and Varian has a shot at redemption. But one thing that never changed is this group's penchant to find new adventure around every corner.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A rewrite of sorts of my very first Tangled: the Series work, "Every Step of the Way."
> 
> A few fair warnings: as the tags say, there are mentions of some topics that might trigger someone, or might only be suitable for an older age group. Also, half of this was written in the middle of the night, much like the original "Every Step of the Way." But this makes a lot more sense than that one did...
> 
> This is mainly for myself, to show myself how much I've grown since freshman year, when I first wrote "Every Step of the Way." It's alright if nobody wants anything to do with this; it's for me, your local self-indulgent fanfic author.

**i. Vince**

* * *

Vince was drunk, and everybody knew it. More often than not, he drank and he drank, and his actions afterward showed it.

Perhaps Cassandra had been wrong to think that she could help Vince through this. There was a reason she had always been slightly wary of Rapunzel's actions and motives, her wish to trust and to help just about everyone that they ever came across. It was simply too dangerous to open your heart and mind to someone that was a virtual stranger.

Cass had been such a hypocrite.

When she had first met him, Vince had been relatively clean, only getting terribly wasted every so often. She had taken it as a challenge: get him to go sober for more than an entire month.

He had been a decent man, fairly tolerable, very handsome. His dark eyes were always in the moment, alert and emotional. His lips had always been genuine, speaking only the truth and giving some of the kindest smiles that Cassandra had ever borne witness to. There were times where his line of thought would be interrupted by another idea or story, but nobody seemed to mind. Other people were _far_ more scatterbrained than Vince ever was; they weren't going to judge.

He seemed to genuinely like Cassandra. In just about any setting, he purposefully sought her out and joined her, offering her a kind smile. He tried (multiple times) to get her to go out with him, but her answer was always the same: "I'll do it once you've been sober for at least a month."

It wasn't easy-- too many times, the beckoning of drink was too much for Vince to handle-- but he finally did it. He went for _two_ months, in fact, going for the "better safe than sorry" route. And finally, Cass agreed to go out with him. Looking back, Cass would say that she had just made one of the worst decisions of her life. Because once she agreed to that, everything began to spiral out of control. And that crazy spiral took years and _years_ to finally come to an end.

* * *

"I can't say that I like this, Cass," Rapunzel said softly, "you and I both know that he only went sober for two months because he wanted _you_. And probably not in a decent way, either."

Cassandra snorted. "Listen, Raps. I can handle myself."

"Maybe," Rapunzel responded, sounding hesitant, "but I'm worried for you. Cass, he's not a good guy, and he's even _less_ of a good guy when he's been to the pub."

"He knows the rules. If he wants to stay with me, he has to stay sober."

Rapunzel frowned. "Cassandra, I know that you think you're almighty or something. But... This definitely _isn't_ your best idea."

Cass sighed. "I know it's not, Raps. But still... I believe it's worth a shot."

"If... If you're certain," Rapunzel complied after a moment or two, "just... Be careful. Okay?"

"Of course I will, Raps."

* * *

Cassandra had made that promise... But it was fairly difficult to keep such a promise when the other party was completely wasted. Like, _completely_ wasted.

"Lookee 'ere!" Vince said, sounding overly enthusiastic about something or other, "it's 'Sandra. Beautiful, beautiful 'Sandra!"

Cass sighed deeply. "Vince, I've been standing here for five minutes straight. You were literally _just_ talking to me."

"Oh."

He had clearly been to the pub recently.

Cassandra frowned. Maybe Rapunzel was onto something; perhaps Cass _couldn't_ "fix" Vince as she had intended to do earlier. It was high time to give him up; he was no longer the kind, sweet man that he had once been. Instead, he spent every waking hour either wasted or working his way up to it.

She knew that nobody would blame her if she broke it off with him; in fact, just about everyone she knew-- even the ones who disapproved of _her_\-- didn't think that Vince was a good fit for her. But still, something kept her from simply... Dumping him.

As if on cue, Cassandra's many hidden bruises began throbbing.

There were bruises just about everywhere, and they all had the same story, only three words long: "Vince was drunk."

Not many drunk people are gentle with their surroundings, even if those surroundings included a person. And Vince _loved_ to reach out and pull her close... And if she did anything in an attempt to resist this, well, that only made things worse for her.

Cass had been lucky enough to be able to hide a majority of the bruises-- her favorite outfit covered just about everything from her neck down, and her other main choice, her lady-in-waiting uniform, was fairly generous when it came to coverage-- but she was unsure of just how long this small miracle would last. She was already making daily stops at Rapunzel's for help covering the few bruises that made their way to visibility.

"Vince?" she asked, not bothering to look at him, "can we maybe... You know. Can we talk?"

"'Course, 'Sandra," he slurred, "whaddya need?"

She leveled him with her best glare, putting a hand on her waist. "I don't think that this is going to work out. You and me."

"Whaddya mean?"

"You know what I mean," she snapped, "I... I just can't be _with_ you anymore, Vince."

Vince crossed the room, roughly grabbing her wrists and staring into her eyes. His gaze was intense and dangerous, and Cass could smell the beer on his breath.

She had to fight herself not to jerk away, or to slap him across the face.

"Jus' why not?"

_Because you're abusive. Because you're rude. Because you're constantly drunk._

"Because... Well, I just _can't_, Vince," she said, "I can't _be_ with a guy like you."

She had no better way of saying that to him, and she hoped that he wouldn't _ask_ for a better explanation.

Vince's grip on her wrist tightened. "_Sure_ you can't."

"I'm being serious right now," she snapped, "you're... I just can't _be_ with you anymore."

She reached to pry his hand off her wrist, one finger at a time. She should've known that Vince was far more persistent than _that,_ though.

Hindsight _is_ twenty-twenty, after all.

* * *

Several months later, Cassandra finally got what she had been _trying_ to get: freedom from Vince. It had come in what _might've_ been the worst possible way, had she not been so desperate to be free of him.

Vince had been cheating on her-- or maybe he had been cheating _using_ her; she didn't know-- with a woman named Gertrude. In fact, he had gotten so serious with this other woman that when he finally got around to breaking up with Cass, he and Gertrude had been engaged for several long months.

Cass _wanted_ to be mad-- wasn't that how most people acted when they found out they were being cheated on?-- but she couldn't bring herself to be terribly angry at Vince for this. In fact, she almost felt downright _giddy._

She had finally been liberated!

Little did she know what other surprises that day held for her, though...

* * *

**ii. Trystan**

* * *

_Funny,_ Cassandra thought to herself, _normally my immune system catches these things before they happen._

This was the third day in the last week or so that Cass had found herself sick. She hadn't gotten sick in many, many years. Not like _this,_ at least. And three days in one week? That was... Kind of a terrifying number.

Owl hooted at her from across the room before taking flight, landing on her shoulder. He pecked at the back of her head and she groaned, sitting up straighter.

Great. So her most loyal companion was concerned for her now... But she was _fine_. She had nothing to worry about.

It was just a bug.

Another wave hit her, and she leaned over her wastebasket once more.

Alright. Fine. Maybe something _was_ wrong with her.

She wasn't going to go about telling anyone, though. It was probably just nothing, as she had told herself many times over. There was no use in troubling people over _nothing._

But she'd definitely be stopping by a local physician's later today to make sure of it.

* * *

"Lady Cassandra," the physician said, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Cass explained her situation to him-- keeping to the bare minimum on details, of course-- and answered the questions that he posed for her. The physician's wife came in and helped run a few tests and ask some more questions of the young handmaiden.

Cass found herself glancing at the clock quite often. She had gone to the physician's right after dinner, at about seven thirty. It was nearly nine now.

Finally, they seemed to have reached a conclusion.

It was not a conclusion that Cassandra liked. Not one bit.

* * *

Owl was staring at Cassandra intently, his huge avian eyes unblinking. Cass stared back, though she knew it was somewhat pointless. Humans weren't meant to keep their eyes open for that long. She could feel her eyes watering from the prolonged exposure to the air, and she blinked.

"Fine. Fine, fine, _fine_. I'll... I'll talk to Dad. Tomorrow, okay?"

Yep. She had officially hit rock bottom: she was talking to her pet owl. Yes, she talked to Maximus and Pascal and Fidella, but there was something more _alive_ in them than there was in Owl. He was just a dead-eyed bird of prey. That was all.

Owl hooted softly back at her, something that she took as a positive response and affirmation.

As much as Cass wanted to work on her own time with this, she knew that she was also on a time limit now. She had no idea how things would change, or when, but she knew that they would. She also knew that she had to tell _somebody_ what was going on before... Well, before her situation manifested itself and her body gave it away.

It had been about a week since Cassandra had paid a visit to the local physician.

It had been about a week since she had learned about the baby.

It was high time that someone else knew.

At the very least, it would mean getting the news off her chest. At the most, it would mean gaining someone to talk to about it, to help her make decisions and other such things.

Cass laid down on her back in the middle of her bed, staring at the ceiling. _Just take deep breaths, girl._

_Inhale._ She was free of Vince.  
_Exhale._ Her freedom came at a price.  
_Inhale._ She needed to tell her dad.  
_Exhale._ Her father would probably have a heart attack.

_Oh, god... Dad's heart issues._

Cass didn't want to be the cause of her father's latest heart attack. Just the thought of doing anything to push him over the edge, even on accident... It pretty much petrified Cass.

This was her _father_: brave, bold Kade, the captain of Corona's guard. A man who loved his king, his country, and his daughter. A man whose heart was unexpectedly weak, enough so that nobody quite knew what would finally do it in.

Cassandra was almost positive that baby news from his only daughter might do the trick, though.

She turned onto her side, unable to stay on her back much longer. As soon as she got slightly comfortable, though, there was a knock at the door.

"Cassandra?"

Cass sighed. "Just give me a second, Dad."

* * *

Cassandra was glad that her dad _didn't_ have a heart attack when she told him. He _did_ berate her a little bit, but it was mainly on the topic of "Why the hell did you even stay with him in the first place?!" and not something more like "I can't believe you went and did this. I raised you better than that."

_I'd rather take being berated for having poor conduct than having Dad's heart give out,_ she reflected, _thank heavens that it went the way that it did._

* * *

After Cassandra told her father the news, it began to spread around the castle like wildfire. It didn't help that nobody on staff could keep their mouths shut... Especially not Eugene.

Everywhere she went, she was surrounded by glances and whispers. Nobody even tried to hide the fact that they were focused on her. And until something new caught their eye, Cass would be the sole object of their undivided attention.

Thankfully, though, she had someone on her side. Two people, actually: her dad and the princess.

Both people purposefully took time out of their days in order to seek Cass out, to check up on her. If she needed to talk, they would stay and talk with her. If she was craving something, they would send someone down to get whatever it was for her. If she was tired, they would sit and keep watch, at least until they were absolutely certain that she was getting the rest that she needed.

Even Eugene joined in sometimes, though he still took the opportunity to tease her whenever he could.

But that hardly mattered. Cass was just glad that she had people on her side.

* * *

It was a beautiful day in June when Trystan Elyzabeth Pendergraft officially entered the world.

Most everyone in the palace was too busy to pay much mind to the fact-- the royal wedding was only two months away, after all, and there was still _so much_ that was unfinished-- but that didn't really matter. Not to Cassandra.

She looked down at the small human that was snuggled in her arms, sleeping. She could hardly take her eyes off her daughter, a perfect miniature of herself.

There was hardly any trace of Vince on Trystan, a fact which made Cass very glad.

Rapunzel and Eugene stopped by, though wedding planning forced their visit to be extremely brief.

Kade visited, too. His visit was far longer than that of Rapunzel and Eugene; he stayed there for several hours, watching over his granddaughter while Cass got some well-needed rest. In fact, he visited just about every day until Cassandra could get back on her feet.

Kade stopped by as often as he could, actually, at least up until the royal wedding, two months after Trystan was born.

Speaking of...

* * *

**iii. A Vote of Pity**

* * *

Varian had been sitting in his cell for far too long. It had been four long years, during which his anger and contempt had essentially diminished, replaced by sorrow and despair. He was cold, he was hungry, and he was lonely.

Yes, he had Ruddiger with him, but something about having another _human_ to interact with appealed to him.

He hadn't been placed in the normal cells with the other prisoners. Those were the thieves and kidnappers. Varian, on the other hand, had attempted to _kill_ people. Had he succeeded, he probably would've been in that cell for a much shorter amount of time. Then it would've been the gallows for him.

There were times that he wished he _had_ succeeded. Maybe then, he wouldn't be so lonely and miserable. He'd just be gone.

At first, he'd had a few visitors. People from the palace who, under King Frederic's orders, had tried to show him how what he had done-- and what he had attempted to do-- was blatantly wrong.

After the first month or so, most of the people gave up. All except for two young guards-in-training named Craig and Jonah.

At first, they had been quite wary of Varian-- though they were all around the same age, Craig and Jonah had both grown up in the palace and were fairly frightened of the young alchemist for certain reasons-- but as time passed, the three had grown a little closer. They shared stories and food, and Craig and Jonah could almost swear to the fact that they had made Varian smile once or twice.

And then they had turned seventeen and been accepted as official guards of Corona. While they still made sure to check in on Varian as often as they could, it just wasn't the same.

And thus Varian had been extremely lonely for the past year or so.

That is, until that fateful day...

* * *

"Dad, it's been four years," Rapunzel pleaded, "I've heard good reports about him and his behavior. Well, mostly good, but let's not get into all the semantics right now..."

Frederic sighed. Rapunzel meant well, he knew, but sometimes she was far too naive.

"He is _dangerous,_ Rapunzel, and you know that."

"It's been _four years,"_ she reiterated, "people can change. Even him. Besides..."

Rapunzel hated playing this card, but she was always willing to do so if it meant helping her cause. Especially when she knew that she was right.

"I was trapped in a tower for _eighteen years,_ Dad. You've heard my stories of endless days of doing the same things over and over. It was tedious."

Frederic raised an eyebrow, curious as to where his daughter was going with this.

"Now, imagine how much _more_ tedium I would've experienced had it been more like a prison cell than a home. No paint. No games. No oven. No books. Just grey walls, a single barred window, and a hard cot. Nobody deserves to live like that."

_Including Varian._

Frederic shook his head. "If I were to bend the rules for one single prisoner, I'd have to bend the rules for everyone. I'm sorry, Rapunzel, but unless I have good reason to believe that he's _really_ changed, I can't do anything about it."

"Have you even gone to visit him?!" Rapunzel burst out impatiently, "because, as far as I've heard, all you know of his progress is through word of mouth. And not even recent updates, either."

Frederic sighed deeply. "And just _what_ do you suggest we do?"

Rapunzel smiled. She had made it this far; the only thing she needed now was for her father to approve of the plan.

* * *

That evening, two strange new guards came to escort Varian upstairs to a separate parlor-- quite possibly one meant for the palace's servants, though Varian couldn't be certain-- and instructed him to sit down on the couch that was situated against the far wall. So he did.

Varian sat on that couch for about half an hour, doing nothing but stare at the wall opposite him-- a pale purple, but nothing else-- until another man walked into the room, carrying bundles of clothing.

"These should all be roughly your size," he said gruffly, dropping the clothes at Varian's feet, "try them on."

Varian frowned, studying the man. "Why?"

"You don't want to be the guy who wore _those_ old rags"-- here, he gestured vigorously at Varian's current attire-- "to the princess's wedding, do you?"

"Maybe I do," Varian shot back defensively, "I really could care less about what I wear to her _wedding._ Honestly, I could care less about the wedding itself."

The man sniffed. "Fine, then. Have it your way."

With that, he left. Varian stared down at the pile of clothes at his feet before studying the clothes that he was wearing. They _were_ essentially rags, hastily thrown together by some members of the palace staff once they had realized that he was still growing.

These newer clothes-- still a step down from what others had-- were a huge step _up _from what he already had.

And so Varian busied himself with trying on outfit after outfit.

* * *

**iv. Where Our Story Starts**

* * *

Cassandra looked down at Trystan, sighing a little. As much as she loved her daughter, well... Trystan reminded her too much of the past. That stupid, dreaded past that Cass had spent _so long_ trying to forget about.

Trystan met her mother's gaze, small hazel eyes meeting larger ones. She looked curious, desperate to do _something._

Well, she was in luck.

"Let's get you ready for Aunty Rapunzel's wedding," Cass said softly, lifting the young girl up into her arms, "oh, you're going to look _so nice_ in the outfit she picked out for you!"

Yep. She was officially doing baby-talk. She had spent far too much time with Rapunzel, who adored Trystan and spent every moment that she possibly could cooing down at the two-month-old and making goofy-looking kissy faces.

Trystan gurgled excitedly and Cass had to chuckle a little.

"Alright, then," she whispered, "let's do this."

* * *

Four years. It had been four long years, and yet not much had changed. Varian still hated Rapunzel, and he was still completely in awe of Eugene. He even thought that he had seen yet another familiar face, though she stayed near the back of the chapel and ducked out near the end, when a palace maid came and whispered something in her ear.

Where was it that Cassandra had just gone? What could the maid have possibly said to get her to leave with such a sense of urgency?

All these questions and more floated around in Varian's head, but he wasn't about to give in to his curiosity. Not yet, at least. He still needed to respect that a wedding was currently taking place. A wedding that not many people would forget, not anytime soon.

But that didn't make him any less curious.

Not one bit.

* * *

Varian decided that his best chance to sneak away, to try and find Cassandra, would be during the reception. That way, he could easily avoid doing something that he didn't _want_ to do, like dance, or talk to Rapunzel.

So he wandered through the halls, rather aimlessly. That is, until he heard the voice.

Varian knew that voice. Granted, he didn't quite recognize the high-pitched cooing sounds that it was making at the moment. But, nonetheless, he _knew_ that voice.

It was the voice of Cassandra.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories always seem to be always haunting me until I can't think.
> 
> Or, rather: Cass and Varian meet for the first time in four years. There is also a flashback.

**i. Reunion**

* * *

Cassandra could hear the footsteps coming ear her, though they were fairly faint. She prided herself on a lot of things, her hearing included. She turned slightly to face her visitor, half expecting it to either be her father or Rapunzel.

She was _not_ expecting it to be Varian.

What was _he_ doing, walking free?

Cass slightly tightened her grip on young Trystan, unsure of what exactly was going on... And not quite willing to relax until she was certain that no harm would come to anyone. Especially not her daughter.

"Cassandra?"

Hearing his voice brought back so many memories. Some good. Some bad.

Varian's basement lab, the purple goo that was _meant_ to trap raccoons, but ended up trapping herself and Rapunzel. The explosions in Old Corona, caused by his inventions. Her instinctually saving him because... Well, she didn't exactly know.

The great science exposition, where he had greeted her as she hung the banner up. Him helping her with her chores in exchange for her help later, presenting his new invention. All the chaos that had ensued when she had to turn him down.

The sound of his feet running through the palace halls, frantically trying to get Rapunzel's help. Watching him be dragged away by the guards, still yelling.

The effects of the purple cookies. The battle of Old Corona. Watching him get put into a prison cart and heading back to Corona.

She shuddered a little at the memories. Not many of them were terribly _pleasant_, that was for sure.

"Varian."

No more words between them for a moment or two, during which Varian took a seat right next to Cass, much to her chagrin.

"Hey, Cass," he said finally, breaking the silence, "it's been awhile."

Couldn't he just leave her be?

Maybe if she answered with simple words or phrases... Maybe he'd give up.

So far, that was not how her luck was going to end up treating her.

"It has."

Varian's gaze landed on baby Trystan, still nestled in her mother's arms. "And... Who's this?"

"This is Trystan," Cass said, "she... She's my daughter."

With those three words, Varian could feel his heart sink. Of course Cassandra had gotten married and had a baby; she wasn't _his_ to have, after all. She could make decisions, live her life, all on her own. Besides, it was hardly as if he would've been a contender, even if he _hadn't_ been in prison for the past four years.

"She's beautiful, Cass," he murmured softly, "you and your husband must be so proud."

Cassandra frowned. Did he... Did he _know _about what had happened? About Vince? Was he trying to poke fun at her?

Somehow, she could sense that he wasn't trying to do anything of the sort. Maybe it was something in his voice, or in his soft smile, or his wide, blue eyes... Something in that managed to convince her that Varian was being genuine in the moment.

"I _am_ proud," she admitted after a moment or two, "and I love her to death."

She paused before continuing. "Her father's entirely out of the picture now. I don't care what he thinks of her."

_So much so that I never even told him._

"Can I... Can I hold her?"

Cassandra hesitantly handed her baby girl over to Varian, who took her gently. It took her a moment to get used to the transition, but when she did, she curled up into his chest.

Varian studied her closely, smiling each time that he found another one of Cassandra's physical traits mirrored in the small baby. The dark, curly wisps of hair. The pale skin. The lips, set in a smug smile.

He hadn't been lying when he had said that she was beautiful.

"I don't know how anyone could possibly leave you," he said quietly, "either of you. Seriously, only an idiot could've possibly had the guts to do that."

Cass couldn't help it; she snorted. "He _was_ an idiot. Probably because he was constantly drunk."

Varian winced a little, uncertain of whether or not he should give a verbal response to her. Trystan sneezed, and Varian immediately directed his attention down at the little girl. He began to gently bounce her up and down in his arms, cooing softly down at her. Cass smiled a little as she watched him: somehow, he was a pro. A born natural.

As far as she was aware, the only practice that Varian had ever gotten holding live humans was... The Battle of Old Corona.

She could still remember the feeling of the cold, lifeless metal as it encircled her entire body, threatening to squeeze the very life out of her. Varian's voice, cold and distant and metallic.

_"Hello, Cassandra. I always knew I could sweep you off your feet."_

And now he was holding her infant daughter in his arms. Suddenly, everything came back to her, and she reached to snatch Trystan back from him.

"... Cass?"

Cassandra shook her head, refusing to look up at him. She didn't want him to see the fear and pain that had suddenly overtaken her face. She didn't want him to know that he had somehow managed to break past her barriers, even back then, and that she was fairly close to letting him through yet again. She didn't want him to know that she was only human.

"Cassie," Varian tried again, "if this is about what... What went down four years ago--"

"If you're going to try _apologizing_ for that," she spat out, "you're going to have to try much harder."

There was no way a simple apology could be enough. Not on her watch.

"Cassie..."

Cassandra stood up, brushing off her dress to the best of her one-handed ability. Once she was fairly satisfied, she turned and headed back to the palace without another word.

* * *

Varian decided not to attend the rest of the reception. He was simply exhausted, and besides... He felt that he needed the time to process whatever it was that had just gone down between himself and Cassandra.

And Trystan.

He was genuinely curious about that. Cass was a badass, someone who could stand her ground and never took anything from any_one. _So... How had she ended up with a baby? And why did she speak so flippantly when she had briefly spoken about Trystan's father?

So many questions filled his head, but he forced himself to settle down, cozy in for the night. He could always seek out answers later.

* * *

**ii. Fears**

* * *

Cassandra held her little girl close. Her encounter with Varian out in the courtyard was enough to mildly frighten her. Up until now, she had forgotten the fact that, indeed, there _was_ still bad. Troublemakers and crooks still existed. How she had forgotten the fact, she had no idea.

It didn't help that she lived in Corona, a kingdom that was famous for the fact that its beloved princess went missing for eighteen years.

While there wasn't anything terribly special about Trystan-- nothing like her being the human embodiment of the sun or moon or something similar, at least-- the fact did little to comfort Cass. All she wanted anymore was for her daughter to be happy and healthy and safe.

That was all that mattered. There was no question: she would do anything for Trystan. _Anything._

Trystan opened her eyes and looked at Cass, gurgling quietly. Cass chuckled to herself, gently kissing her daughter on the forehead.

"Hey, baby girl," she murmured, "how are you holding up?"

Trystan yawned, and Cass chuckled again. "I know the feeling. Let's say our good nights and good-byes, then we can go to bed. How does that sound?"

Trystan just blinked sleepily, so Cass began doing just that.

First, she went to congratulate Rapunzel and-- somewhat against her will-- Eugene. Rapunzel, as one might expect, wrapped her arms tightly around her best friend before turning to Trystan and cooing at her for a moment or two.

And then Cass went to her father.

"We're turning in," she said, "so... Good night."

Kade nodded. "Of course. It's been a long day. You need rest."

Cass turned to leave before realizing the opportunity that she had. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"I... I saw someone today," Cass began, "someone who... Well, Who I haven't seen in quite some time."

The captain's expression instantly turned hard and his gaze fiery. Cass realized her error in word choice and quickly hurried to fix it.

"Dad, it's okay. I'm not talking about Vince. This is about _Varian._"

Kade relaxed slightly. "Him. Of course."

"So?" Cassandra pressed, "what's he doing running free?"

"The princess made a case for him. The king decided to give him another chance based on that."

"_Why?!"_

Kade began reciting all of the reasons that he had heard, ticking them off on his fingers. "It's been four years; he's eighteen now. People change..."

_All bullcrap reasoning given by Raps, _Cass thought to herself, _she sees everything as bright colors and rainbows, but that doesn't change the fact that Varian has done a lot of damage in the past._

She began mentally ticking off all that he had done wrong. _He essentially broke into the palace in the middle of a state of emergency and demanded our help. He __used__ Rapunzel to get his hands on Herz Der Sonne's book and used that to find his way into the royal archives and stole the sundrop flower. Oh, and he fed everyone purple truth-serum cookies. And, if that wasn't enough, he invaded the palace again, kidnapped the queen. Hurt my father. He waged war against Corona and nearly killed a lot of people, myself included._

Kade was still going off his list, and Cass sighed.

"Those all sound _wonderful, _Dad," she fibbed, "but I'm not going to trust him _that_ easily."

"And I don't expect you to," Kade assured her, "if we're being honest here, I'd have to agree with you. But it's the order that has been passed down from King Frederic."

Cass nodded, somewhat sullenly. "I understand. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sleepy daughter who I need to put to bed."

Kade smiled, gently stroking Trystan's small hand with his thumb. "Of course. Good night, Cassandra. Trystan."

Cass nodded. "Good night, Dad."

* * *

Trystan was fast asleep by the time that Cassandra got back to their room. Instead of taking the time to change either of them, Cass just put Trystan down in her bassinet-- which was conveniently placed alongside her bed so that she didn't have to be too far from her daughter-- and climbed into her own bed.

She was exhausted, but no sleep came. She simple stared at Trystan, who was sleeping peacefully, and thought. She thought on how much her life had changed since her beautiful baby girl had entered the world. How much her life _would_ change, probably until she died.

Cass was no longer alone, and yet she felt a little more lonely than she had felt before. It was just her and Trystan against the world. No one else.

Just them.

She moved closer to the crib, reaching out and gently brushing her finger over Trystan's cheek. 

And then her mind wandered to Varian again. Her father had mentioned a few reasons as to why he had shown up, but Cass didn't care. He was a criminal, and being in prison all those years was probably enough to harden him even more than he had been beforehand. And she had forgotten. She had forgotten and allowed him to hold her precious baby girl for longer than she thought was okay.

Trystan stirred a little.

"Hey, baby girl," she said softly, sitting up a little more in order to take her daughter out of the bassinet.

She laid back, resting Trystan on her chest and making sure her arms were securely around her. Trystan cooed happily, curling up into her mother's warm body. Cass kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, little one," she whispered, "good night."

With those words, she fell asleep.

* * *

**iii. Memories, part one**

* * *

_It had been a few days since the time when Cass had decided that it was time. There had been too much on her mind, and every time that she had come somewhat close to tell him, she chickened out._

_Cassandra was not ready for this moment. She had spent the past few hours trying to figure out how she was about to go doing this. How she was about to go and tell her father that she was... Pregnant._

_Not a conversation that she had ever really planned on having with him. Ever._

_And yet... Here she was._

_Taking a deep breath in, she reached and knocked on his door._

_It took a few seconds, but the door opened, revealing Kade. "Cassandra? What are you doing here at this time?"_

_"Dad... I have something that I need to talk to you about."_

_"Of course," he said, "come on in."_

_Cass entered the room and immediately took a seat. "I have some... Rather surprising news."_

_Kade's brow furrowed. "Oh?"_

_Cass couldn't hold it in any longer: "I... I'm pregnant."_

_Kade blinked. Those were words that he hadn't expected to ever come out of his daughter's mouth._

_"You're joking."_

_The set of her lips and the tone of her voice when she said the words said otherwise, though._

_Cass shook her head, not even daring to look up at him. "I'm... I'm afraid not."_

_Kade had never seen such an expression on his daughter as the one that she currently wore on her face. She looked... Well, she looked completely and utterly lost. Scared. For once, the confidence that she often exhibited had completely disappeared._

_Funny how the smallest of creatures could manage to knock down the biggest of walls._

_"I never should've allowed myself to stay with him."_

_Kade sat down next to her, slightly torn on what to say or do._

_On the one hand, he was angry. He didn't know who or what his anger was directed at, but it was definitely there. Cassandra knew better. He had been right about Vince the entire time, and yet she never listened. And now they couldn't just blow the entire thing off. Yes, Cassandra had separated from Vince, but she had picked up a little keepsake from the entire fiasco._

_On the other hand, she was his daughter. She was a strong, confident woman, but that didn't change the fact that she had been his little girl first. Years had passed since he had first met and adopted the shy, scared five-year-old girl that he had met in the orphanage, but he still cared deeply for her. Kade had always provided whatever it was that Cass needed, and those instincts had never truly left him._

_"Dad..."_

_"I still can't believe that you stayed with him for that long," Kade said after a long moment, "even after all the warnings that everyone gave you. Even after you realized it for yourself, just how bad it was. I can't say that I'm terribly surprised that something ended up happening."_

_Cassandra nodded solemnly, looking back down at her feet. She was feeling rather ashamed of herself. So much so that she couldn't bring herself to look at him._

_Kade put a hand on Cass's knee, and she looked up at him after another moment._

_"But I care for you too much to be truly angry at you," he continued in a quiet voice, "not for terribly long, at least. You're my daughter, Cassandra. I love you too much."_

_Cass smiled weakly. "I love you too, Dad."_

_"I trust you to make the right decisions," he continued, "so whatever you decide to do about this... I'm on your side."_

_I have **always** been on your side._

_Cassandra nodded. When Kade extended his arms to her, she gladly embraced him._


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A midnight trip to Old Corona leads to Varian and Cass facing some ghosts from their past... And a new discovery.
> 
> Also: we meet an underground group dedicated to finding someone important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually doing good at churning this story out at almost regular intervals! Not only that: it's not 100% crap like the original was!
> 
> Part of this chapter is kind of "Kai going out on a limb here," and might be proven wrong in less than a week. But I know you won't judge because, hey, it's a fanfiction. Not every part needs to be accurate. Right?
> 
> **UPDATE: yeah, I kinda got proven wrong. Whoopsies. But I'm still going on my own arc. As if season three never really happened. And if any of the plot lines intersect, it was completely on accident.**

**i. Ghosts of the Past**

* * *

Varian could feel the terror wash over him anew, as if it _hadn't_ been four long years since it had happened. As if he was witnessing the horror of seeing his father being encased in that amber all over again.

Every night, the same images filled his head: the rocks and his father. The amber, reaching its cold fingers to wrap tightly around Quirin in a death grip.

He always woke up in a cold sweat, but he had been unable to do much about that fact. Not for the past four years. Now, though... Now he was allowed to go out into a courtyard for fresh air if he felt up to it. He could walk through the palace halls, though that would have no real use except to make him feel more trapped, like a caged lion.

Hell, he could probably even sneak out and head back to his home, check on his father and the stupid amber, grab a few random supplies, and come back before anyone even realized that he had been gone.

Actually, that sounded like a fine idea to him.

At the very least, it would help him to face the ghosts of his past.

He sat up slowly, glancing around the room. Ruddiger was sleeping peacefully at the foot of the small bed that Varian had been granted. Aside from that, the young alchemist was completely alone.

But his mind would not leave the notion he had come across earlier. He wanted to clear his mind. He wanted freedom from the phantoms that constantly haunted him.

Varian knew that they would never leave him be. Not unless he went and settled the score, or got some closure of sorts.

He stood up, quickly digging through the pile of used clothes that he had been given earlier, trying to find something that he would be comfortable wearing on his trek back home.

Ruddiger opened his eyes and gave a tired chitter.

Varian chuckled softly. "You stay here, buddy. I need you to cover for me if anyone discovers that I'm gone."

Ruddiger chittered again, this time in protest.

"I'm just going home for a little bit," Varian explained, beginning to change, "I'll be back before anyone realizes that I've left, though."

He finished dressing and gave the loyal raccoon a friendly scratch behind the ears before turning to leave the room. As soon as he stepped into the hall, though, he heard a familiar voice.

"Varian?"

He turned on his heel to face Cassandra. "I... Cass."

She frowned. "And just where do you think you were going?"

He scrambled to think. "Umm... The kitchen. I'm curious to see if they have anything I can use for a late-night snack."

Cassandra's eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. "Uh-huh. You do realize that the kitchen is _that_ way, right?"

She motioned behind her with her head, and Varian mentally slapped himself. _Think smarter next time, dumbass._

"Right..."

He lifted a foot, preparing to walk in that direction, but Cass grabbed him by the shirt collar before he could go terribly far, though.

"Not so fast," she said firmly, "I know you're up to something else, and I'm not letting you get away with it. Not this time."

"I'm being completely serious here, Cassie..."

She drew him closer to her, unable to lift him by the shirt collar anymore. He had grown. Still, though, the sense of deja vu that Varian got was unreal.

"Nice try. Now, let's try it again, this time _with_ the truth and _without _the nickname."

_You lost the right to call me that when you broke into the castle to steal the sundrop flower._

"Fine, fine!" he conceded, "I... I was going to sneak out, go home for a little while. Grab myself some clothes and other supplies that I may need. And... And to say good-bye."

Cass raised an eyebrow. "To your dad?"

Varian nodded somberly. "The amber likely cut off his air source _years_ ago now. He... He was probably dead long before I, you know. Before I waged war on you guys. If he wasn't gone then, he's definitely gone now. Four years with no air supply... Nobody could survive that, Cassandra."

The more he spoke, the more dejected he became. His voice became sad and sullen, and his posture became worse with each word. Cass almost felt _bad_ for him.

Almost.

"I was told that you're not allowed outside the palace," she said stiffly, "not unless you're accompanied by someone."

Varian huffed in frustration. "This is something I have to do alone. Nobody will understand. Besides, I'm not about to wake someone up just to take me to the home of my childhood."

"I thought you were supposed to be smart."

Varian looked up, meeting her gaze. "I'm sorry?"

Cass rolled her eyes. "You are _not_ leaving. Not without me."

"No," Varian said firmly, "for so many reasons, no."

"Reasons?" she asked, "what _reasons?"_

"Well, for one, having two people out and about gives other people more chance to catch me and put me back in prison. Two: I don't feel up to having company-- note the fact that Ruddiger is not with me-- and besides, you have Trystan to look out for."

Cassandra laughed. "Dad's taking care of Trystan. Says I need some time to myself. To take a break. I haven't been outside of the palace in nearly a _year,_ Varian. Besides... Who do you think it was that snuck Rapunzel out of the palace on the night before her coronation?"

Varian raised an eyebrow. "Your point being...?"

"I'm knowledgable about this stuff," she said simply, "without me, you're pretty much doomed to get caught. Or lost in these halls."

Varian huffed, thinking on it. "Fine. But don't believe for _one minute_ that I'm happy about this."

Cass let out a bitter laugh. "Same here, pal."

"Good. We've got that settled. Now... Which way is 'out'?"

* * *

The walk to Old Corona started out in silence. Neither Varian nor Cassandra spoke, Cass because she had no wish to do so, and Varian because he had no current death wish.

And then Varian began to hum softly. A tune half-recognized from his youth.

Something... Something his mother used to sing to him, if memory served correctly.

Cass raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll bite."

Varian stopped everything that he was doing. "What?"

"You've clearly got something on your mind," Cass pointed out, "something that you need to... Let out of your system. What is it?"

Varian blinked. "It's nothing, Cass."

She crossed her arms and glared at him until he caved.

"I was just thinking," he said, somewhat timidly, "I know you don't like me, and you never really _did_. But still... We haven't seen each other in four years. A lot has happened since then, to both of us."

"So?"

"So we can fill the silence. Silence is... It's a little painful, at least to me."

For so long, silence was just about the only sound that filled Varian's lab, aside from his angry, frustrated ramblings. He did not wish to return to complete silence like that. At least the other prisoners had the decency to be completely and utterly _loud._

"Okay," Cass said, "fine. We can take turns asking each other questions. _But_ nothing too personal, or I will end you. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Alright. You first."

Varian thought for a moment. "When is Trystan's birthday?"

Easy enough. "June twenty-first of this year. She was early by a week."

Varian nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Alright. Now you."

Cassandra had to think, too. Not much had really changed for him over the past four years. She had verbal reports that proved that. She _had_ no questions.

"Umm... Is the gruel they serve you as bad as I've heard?"

Varian laughed. "_Really?! _That's the best question you have?"

Cass nodded and Varian deadpanned slightly.

"I... Can't say for sure," he admitted quietly, "usually, I just slid the stuff to Ruddiger. It didn't look appetizing whatsoever, but I didn't want him to starve."

_If anything was to happen to him, _he thought, _I'd probably be lost._

"I still remember when he was just a 'problem' that your village had, one that you tried to fix."

They both shared a small laugh over that one. Indeed, Ruddiger had come a long way from being the village pest.

"Okay," Varian said after a moment, "my turn again..."

His voice trailed off as his eyes landed on something in the distance. Cassandra followed his gaze until she came to what he must've seen: the village of Old Corona.

"My home," he murmured softly, "god, it's been so long..."

And then he froze.

"Wait. Weren't there rocks everywhere? Or is my mind playing some kind of trick on me?"

Cassandra froze, too. She had forgotten about that. _She _had freed the village from its bondage to the strange rocks, with the help of the Moon Stone. No way was she explaining all the craziness that had gone down back then. Not to Varian.

"Cass?" he asked quietly, "that's my next question: what the hell happened here?"

* * *

**ii. Memories, part two**

* * *

_Cassandra could feel the power of the Moon thrumming through her veins, practically pumped through her body from the Moon Stone like blood from a heart. She felt strong. Indestructible. More so than usual._

_She hated to think of how that power might have gotten to anyone else, had the Stone not activated its self-defense mechanisms._

_Hell, such power could possibly even corrupt the most pure of hearts and souls. She remembered how much power had come from that cursed idol that they had found earlier on their adventure. It had made them slaves to their own happiness. Especially Rapunzel._

_Rapunzel._

_Cass shuddered a little, remembering her best friend. She knew that Rapunzel must be taking this hard. After all, the young princess wasn't one to take anything like this lightly. She had taken to Varian's betrayal pretty roughly, and they hadn't been anywhere near as close as she was with Cassandra._

_But she couldn't help this. It was what she was supposed to do._

_Finally, it came into view: Old Corona._

_The village was almost exactly as they had left it, around a year ago. The black rocks still impaled anything and everything that they found, and when there was nothing to poke a hole into, they simply protruded from the ground, in the way. Remains from the Battle of Old Corona were scattered here and there in front of the house she knew as Varian's._

_How things didn't change._

_She didn't have much time. She had to do what she had come here for and then leave. She wasn't about to risk getting caught. Not so soon._

_With that thought in mind, Cass headed down to the village and began her work._

* * *

**iii. Phantoms and Discoveries**

* * *

"Hey, Dad," Varian said quietly, not bothering to look up at the amber prison.

Not yet, at least. He had supplies to grab. _Then_ he had potential time for a complete one-sided conversation.

"It's been four years. Too long. You've... You've probably already reunited with Mom."

He sighed deeply, pausing his work and bowing his head slightly. It had definitely been far too long.

"Nothing much has changed with me," he continued a minute later, his voice suddenly hardened by the burdens of his past, "just, y'know... Your average for years in prison."

He chuckled weakly to himself, now continuing to grab some of his books and notes, hastily shoving them into his pack. "I miss you, Dad. And...I'll never stop trying to make you proud."

With these final words, he went up to the wall of amber, daring a glance up at it for the first time in a long time. One final look. One last glimpse of his father.

Except... Nothing was inside of the amber.

Quirin had disappeared.

* * *

Cassandra bit her lip as she gazed all around her. Varian had not permitted her to follow him into his old home, wishing for some alone time with what remained of Quirin.

She had to respect a wish like that.

As she looked around at Old Corona, though, so many memories hit her. Meeting Varian was probably the only decent one. Other encounters included being chased by her own father, being nearly killed at the hands of Varian and his giant automaton, and, most recently, a Moon Stone, throbbing with power near her heart.

She had come there to help, not to destroy. Destruction had not been her goal. Ever.

She didn't really know what the point of that was, come to think of it. But it haunted her nonetheless.

"'Sandra. I'm surprised to see you here."

Cassandra's eyes widened. She knew that voice. And only one person ever dared to call her "'Sandra."

"Vince."

"Correct," came his response, "it's been awhile."

"Just under a year," she recited.

Funny how her daughter almost acted as a timeline in her mind nowadays.

"Really?" Vince's voice asked incredulously, "I could've sworn that it was a much longer time than _that_."

"Well, it wasn't."

She was _not_ about to let slip to him the news of Trystan. She was smarter than that.

"How have you been, beautiful?" Vince asked, "and that daughter of yours. How's _she_ been doing?"

... Trystan. _How did he know?_

Cass whirled around, a fiery retort on her tongue. Ready to defend Trystan as best she could, to keep her little girl as safe as she possibly could from such a distance. But when she faced the direction that the voice had come from, she saw nothing. Nor was there anything in any other direction.

She was completely alone.

* * *

"Cassandra!"

Cass startled out of the haze that she had been in since hearing Vince's voice. She turned to face Varian and was quite relieved to see that it was actually him.

"Varian," she replied, somewhat crisply, "is... Is something wrong?"

He looked just about as freaked-out as she felt at the moment.

"It's... My dad," he said quietly, "he's not in there anymore."

"You mean... He's _free?"_

Varian nodded. "That's the only way to put it, yeah. Though, of course, there's no guarantee that he's... You know."

_Alive._

Cassandra nodded stiffly.

"You look a little shaken, too," Varian noted, "is everything alright with you?"

_What, aside from the fact that some weird, disembodied phantom version of Trystan's father just came to talk to me? And then disappeared without a trace? Yeah, I'm fine._

"It's nothing," she fibbed, "I'm just a little chilly at the moment."

Varian highly doubted _that, _but he shrugged it off anyways. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't force her to.

"Let's just go home," she said, her tone short and precise, "I need to get back to Trystan."

Varian frowned. What had shaken her so badly that she was suddenly so desperate to return home? To get back to her daughter? Just a little while ago, she had used those as reasons to get _out_ of the castle. What had changed since then?

_She's... Probably just facing some separation anxiety,_ he reminded himself gently, _nothing's wrong; it's just a mother not wanting to be far from her child._

But he was lying to himself, and he knew it.

"Varian?"

"Of course," he said quickly, "yeah. Let's... Let's go back."

Cassandra put a hand on his shoulder. "I promise that I'll help you find out what happened to your father, Varian."

He smiled at her. "Thanks, Cass."

"Please," she said quietly, "it's Cassie."

Varian blinked, somewhat surprised by just how quickly he had regained access to that nickname. And then he smiled again.

"Of course... Cassie."

* * *

**iv. Sons of the Moon**

* * *

On the outskirts of the kingdom of Corona, in an area that is nowhere near as inhabited as the kingdom and its surrounding villages were, there was a single cottage. The cottage was home to a young man and his wife, but it was not the cottage that really matters to this tale.

What mattered, in terms of this story, is what they had on the same grounds as the cottage. The land surrounding the cottage was large and widespread, though in one section, the young couple had commissioned for a barnhouse to be built. What was odd about this request was the fact that they had no _need_ for a barnhouse. They had no animals to tend to, and no farmland surrounding them.

Instead, they had built the barnhouse to use as a meeting place, a safe haven for a secret group.

"Fellow Sons," a man-- the husband who owned the grounds, and clearly a leader to this secret organization-- "several advances have been made to our cause recently. As we all know, only two people alive have been able to harness the power of the Moon."

Murmurs of assent and agreement from the small crowd. The man raised his hands to silence the group once more.

"But even then, neither of them has _fully_ harnessed its power," he continued on, "as a matter of fact, I believe that only one of the two has even taken notice of their connection to the Moon."

He smiled, a wicked glint in his eyes. "I now have confirmation that the one who _is_ aware of their ties has a child. It is my intention to visit later on in the year to see if she is indeed the Child that we have sought out for centuries."

"Is the girl the daughter of both the Harnessers?"

"No," the man said simply, "but that does not mean that we should discount the possibility that she _is_ the one. After all, the girl's father is related to the other Harnesser, by blood. Their father was a member of the original Brotherhood. The chances of this being the true Child are significantly higher than one might think."

* * *

One might read the words recorded above and be fairly confused, and for good reason. The Sons of the Moon were an odd group of men. Dangerous, but odd. They held strong beliefs in legend, and held to it as if it were everything that there was to life. Their beliefs were rooted in legends of the Sun and the Moon, and of manifestations of the two celestial bodies in the form of a sentient human being.

This organization had been around for centuries, but only had become more fueled when it had been discovered that, indeed, the Sun had come and become a part of a human being: the princess of Corona. That was when the search became desperate. Surely, if there was a human Sun Drop, a human Moon Stone counterpart existed at the very same time. They had managed to locate two people who were potential candidates for that: a young man who bore a blue streak in his hair, the same color as his eyes, and a woman who had managed to survive the power of the Moon Stone far longer than anyone before her ever had. And, if the rumors were true, she still had a part of the Moon living within her.

The Sons had discarded the idea of either of them being who they were looking for rather quickly, for their leader had lived with the man for some time and did not recall any such manifestations of power, and resources said that the woman had shown no true signs of being the Child until after harnessing the Moon Stone for herself.

They would know when they met the true Child, they could _feel_ it.

Though they had decided that the two were definitely _not_ who they were looking for, they could not fight the notion that they both would be important in their search for the Child. In fact, it helped to fuel the fire, especially the one living inside of the leader of this organization. For he knew _exactly_ who the Harnessers were.

One was an ex-girlfriend of his-- could he properly _call_ her that, despite the fact that he had never truly been _serious_ about her?-- and the other was a close familial relation.

It couldn't be too hard for Vince to find the true Child of the Moon. Not anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random Fact: Trystan's real birthday in all my other lines of canon is December 25. But for some reason, she was a June baby this time around.
> 
> Also, yeah... It's kind of not that hard for y'all to piece this together. Especially not if you've read the original "Step Series." But hey... C'est la vie.


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this rate, updates are going to be once a month. Each chapter has multiple parts, and each part takes some time to work on...

**i. Doubt Comes In**

* * *

Cassandra didn't even bother saying good-bye to Varian that evening. She was desperate to get back to Trystan, and to make sure that her little girl was okay. Hearing Vince's voice while in Old Corona, and hearing him mention their-- no, _her_\-- daughter like that, despite the fact that everyone inside of the palace had taken every possible precaution to ensure the fact that Vince never found out about Trystan... That was enough to put Cassandra completely on edge.

She was more than relieved when her father opened the door, little Trystan nestled in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Dad," she said quietly, "but... I can't. I need... I need to have her near me."

Kade could sense the tension within Cassandra, could see and hear the slight... Panic that she now exhibited. Only a few hours to herself, and now...

Something drastic must have happened.

"Cassandra..."

Cass shook her head. "No. I... I _can't._ Please, just... Give her to me."

Kade reluctantly handed Trystan over, and Cassandra cradled her close.

"Thank you, Dad."

Kade simply nodded. "Good night, Cassandra."

* * *

_"So... You somehow managed to control the Moon Stone? It didn't reject you or something to that degree?"_

_Cassandra snorted. "I'm still here, aren't I?"_

_Vince smiled. "I suppose you bring a fair point."_

_Cass glanced over at him, smiling too. Thus far, sober Vince was much better than the Vince that she was fairly used to. She had finally gotten him to go sober, and it was turning out to be completely worth it. In fact... She was actually enjoying herself._

_"You know," Vince said suddenly, "there are legends about the Moon. And about one who can harness its powers."_

_Cass snorted again. "No kidding."_

_Even if she hadn't learned all that she did about the Sun and the Moon on the journey outside of the Corona walls, the fact wouldn't have surprised her in the slightest. After all, there had been legends about the Sun long before the princess herself had become associated with it._

_Vince looked at her. "Do you know any of them, then?"_

_Cassandra shook her head, and Vince chuckled._

_"There are many, many legends," he admitted, "but my personal favorite has to do with the Children of the Sun and Moon."_

_Cass sounded skeptical as she said: "the Children of the Sun and Moon?"_

_"Yes. As everyone is well aware now, both the Sun and the Moon gave different gifts to the earth. The Sun sent down a single drop that created a flower. The Moon sent a Stone. Legend has it that the two items would each find a person-- a young child-- to inhabit for all of their life."_

_Cass thought for a moment. "If that's true, then the Child of the Sun would be--"_

_"Rapunzel, yes," Vince agreed, "the powers of the Sun Flower instantly went to her, considering the fact that she was only a young child at the time."_

_Cass nodded. Years ago, she might have dismissed this all as a load of crap. But after meeting Rapunzel, after hearing of-- and occasionally witnessing-- her connection to the Sun... She was more than willing to hear this kind of thing out._

_"... What about the other one?" she asked suddenly, "the Child of the Moon?"_

_"Nobody knows for sure," Vince admitted, "though there have been a few potential leads that have been established recently."_

_Cassandra looked somewhat intrigued, but it was that very moment that the small restaurant that they had been heading towards came into sight._

_Never again did Cass hear Vince speak of these legends. Not even a single mention of the Sun or the Moon._

_Nothing._

* * *

That memory stung. There had been a time where Cassandra had actually _cherished_ that memory, had dwelled on it on an almost-daily basis. But now it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

In the silence and the darkness, you would think that she'd be able to forget it all. To pretend something preposterous, like she was the only human to have ever existed. But it didn't work that way.

The quiet, steady breathing of her young daughter ensured that she realized that fact.

It had already been one hell of a ride. What else could possibly be in store?

* * *

Varian was unable to find sleep. Even if he _could_, he highly doubted that he would find much solace in it.

His father hadn't been there. Sometime over the last four years, Quirin had somehow become free... And he was somewhere out there. Varian could feel it in his gut. But still, he was cautious. As much as he wanted to find his father, there were too many things keeping him back.

For one, he was pretty much on parole. Another fact that seemed solid enough was the fact that someone had to have come inside and broken Quirin free. He couldn't have done it by himself, and the amber was practically impenetrable. Which led to fact three: whoever had freed Quirin was either very smart, or very strong. Potentially both.

Not exactly somebody that Varian wished to cross paths with anytime soon.

But the thoughts troubled and tormented him. After all that he had tried, all that he had thought to do... He had failed.

Who could've _possibly_ had the means to succeed?

* * *

**ii. The Great Earthquake**

* * *

It was while Cassandra was in possession of the Moon Stone that the Great Earthquake took place. Some people actually said that it had happened _because _of Cassandra's acquisition, but who could be certain about such details?

Besides, this story isn't about mere _guesswork_. This is as factual as you get.

So back to the topic: the Great Earthquake.

Nobody quite knows the cause of the so-called 'natural disaster,' but everyone knew of its aftermath. Whole villages and kingdoms had been ravaged and destroyed, and many men and women had been severely injured... If not killed. As the quakes tore through the earth, a lot of the black rocks that had terrorized the people disappeared, receding into the earth so suddenly, it seemed that they had never even been there in the first place.

But, most important to us and this story, the tremors were powerful enough to cause several cracks and fissures to suddenly appear in a seemingly insurmountable barrier, a prison of amber that encased a man named Quirin.

Several people had given up hope on this man, and many others weren't even aware of his situation. Besides, it wasn't like there was anyone available who had all the information. Only two people had all the information. Only two people had that. One of them was trapped in a prison cell, while the other was trapped in a prison that had been formed of amber.

There was only one person who was free of any bondage who cared about what happened to Quirin. Who believed that he was still alive somehow.

"Father. It's been too long."

There was no response. Vince wasn't stupid; he knew that his father would be unable to respond to him. If someone _had_ responded, that would be his cue to be on guard. Perhaps to escape via the shadows. Luckily for him, though, it didn't come down to that.

"I know what happened," Vince said quietly, menacingly, "I know that it was _his_ fault. You favored him over me, and he let you down. Goes to show; you need to be careful who you put all your faith in. Hell, he's been given far more credit than he deserves."

Vince frowned a little. "In fact... All of your favor has been misplaced. Him over me. Ellianna over my mother, _your wife._ And what happened then? Your dear Ellianna didn't even make it to see her own son's first birthday. She has let you down, too."

The young man moved closer to the amber, resting his bare hand against it. "You, my dear father... You have made mistakes, and poor life decisions. But I suppose that wouldn't make you any less vital to my plans."

He didn't say anything more, instead pulling out an axe and trying his best to chisel into the amber. But each attempt of his was met with a loud _clang!_ and a feeling of the reverberations coming through the weapon. It wasn't working.

"What the--?"

As he was saying this, though, the ground began to tremble under his feet. It wasn't a light tremble; it was large, enough to shake the ground and nearly throw Vince to the ground. He managed to hold his footing, though, bracing himself against the amber. And then the fissures appeared: first miniscule, then growing larger in size.

Vince's eyes widened, and then he grinned wickedly. He took his axe once more, wedging it into a medium-sized fissure and beginning to pry until it began to give under his influence.

The ground kept on trembling, but Vince wasn't focused on that anymore. The key to victory was just within his grasp, and he was _not_ letting that fact go to waste.

Finally, with one loud _crack, _an entire side of the amber gave way and fell to the ground, shattering upon impact. Its prisoner fell too, slumping to the floor as the tremors became even more violent.

Vince knelt down next to his father, examining him closely. A coma, it appeared. But Quirin was _alive._

_Finally, _he was getting somewhere. He could now begin putting his plan into action.

* * *

**iii. Paranoia**

* * *

_He knows. Vince knows._

Those words chased each other around in Cassandra's head, doing absolutely nothing to soothe her enough to lay down and rest. Instead she stood and paced the bedroom floor.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

_He knows. He knows. He knows, he knows, he knows..._

Every precaution, every little thing that she could have possibly done to protect Trystan, to keep her from being common knowledge to Vince... It seemed as if it was all for naught.

Because somehow, he had found out.

It had to be real somehow, what she had heard and sensed in Old Corona. After all, she had little to no sense of imagination, period, let alone when it came to something that scared her senseless like this. Besides, she wasn't exactly the type to get unreasonably paranoid. Meaning that there _had_ to be something reasonable behind this all. Something that could not be trusted. Potentially something dangerous.

And that put Cass completely on edge.

Trystan suddenly began crying, and Cass sighed, going to pick the infant up in her arms. Almost immediately, Trystan began to settle down, feeling safe in the comfort of her mother's arms. Cass smiled wistfully. If only life was that easy... Even then, though, she would probably still be upset. She was unused to physical contact. Nor was she used to being open and vulnerable about what she thought and felt. Still, it would be nice to have such simple solutions to all her problems...

There was suddenly a sharp knock at her door. "Lady Cassandra?"

Cass sighed again. "Yes?"

"Your father wants to speak with you," the voice on the other side of the door said, "he said you can have your breakfast first, but he _would_ like to see you as soon as you are available."

"Of course."

Cass could hear the woman's footsteps retreating and sighed, gently setting Trystan down on the bed before getting ready for daily life.

* * *

Breakfast came and went quickly. It really rather helped that Cassandra never had much appetite, _ever. _Once she had finished, she began making her way to her father's office. She kind of dreaded this. She had a feeling that he was going to address her behavior from the night before, and maybe even from the night before _that._

There was absolutely no reason for her to look forward to any of that. But then again... Her dad probably saw no reason for her to act as she had done the past few days.

Pretty soon, Cass found herself standing outside of her father's office, knocking on the door.

"Come on in, Cassandra," she heard him say.

So she did. She pushed the door open and entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"You... You wanted to see me, Dad?"

Kade nodded, gesturing to the seat across from him. "Yes. Come inside."

Cass moved closer, taking the seat. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to check in on you," he said softly, "Cassandra, I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, Dad," Cass replied in a quiet voice, "I've just... Had a lot on my plate recently."

Kade nodded again. He could understand that, sure. She was still a new mom, a single one at that, one whose best friend had just gotten married. An old friend-turned-enemy had made a sudden reappearance in her life. It would have shocked him more if she'd said that there was nothing going on. But still, he knew that there was something more that she wasn't telling him.

"Such as...?" he prompted gently.

Cass sighed a little. "Dad..."

"Cassandra," he replied, voice firmer, "I know you better than that."

"I... I don't know. Too much is going on all at once and... System overload, I guess."

Kade nodded. "Then we can start simple. Last night."

Cass shook her head. Nope. She was not about to talk about her eerie experience in Old Corona. She was not about to let spill that a simple _phantom _had gotten the better of her. She wasn't about to let on that she wasn't as strong as she acted.

"Cassandra," he said softly, "I know that something's been bothering you lately. Something that's suddenly made you very protective over Trystan. I want to help you however I can."

Cass groaned, readjusting her hold on Trystan before answering. "Fine. Look, I... I went out to Old Corona with Varian last night, to let him grab some clothes and other such supplies. While we were out there, I... I thought I heard him. Vince. His voice. It was loud and clear, and it interacted with me when I spoke. Hell, it even called me 'Sandra just like he always did. And then... It asked me how Trystan was doing."

Kade raised an eyebrow.

"I... I haven't seen him since the day I found out about her. I never told him. And still, he somehow knows."

Cass went quiet, looking down at the small infant in her arms. "I want to protect her. But... I don't know _how. _Not anymore."

Kade shook his head. "Cassandra, you're doing a fine job taking care of her. But that Vince... He's a tricky character. How about you try and lay low for awhile? Relax a little and live your life. If you want, I can have some of the guys check out Old Corona and it's surrounding area."

"Dad... All that I want is for this to be over with. To be able to _actually _lay back and relax, to be able to raise my daughter and watch her grow up in peace... To not have any problems at all. But we both know that it's not going to work that way. Ever."

He nodded a little. "Indeed."

"What should I do, though?" she asked him, "I mean, as much as I want it over with..."

She was too curious to let this just sit. She needed to know; she needed _answers._

Cass took a deep breath in. "You... You said you can send a group out to Old Corona?"


	5. Chapter Four

**i. Laying Low**

* * *

"Maybe it's just that you're not ready to let go of her, for even a short time," Clara said softly, "I mean, Hugo's a few months older than Trystan, but I _still _can't be to far away from him for any given amount of time."

Cassandra shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

If she was being completely honest, that lie of a response was only given in order to placate Clara. Clara was one of the palace maids, and one of Cass's few childhood friends. She was a sweet, understanding, yet quiet woman who had started her family just five months before Cass did.

"Where is Pete, anyways?" Cass asked suddenly, her mind choosing that moment to realize that the guard was nowhere near his wife and son.

Clara blinked. "Huh? Oh, yes; your father organized a team to investigate Old Corona for 'suspicious activity'"-- she released one of her hands from her hold on Hugo in order to use air quotes here-- "and Pete was one of the members of that team."

_Oh._

Cass nodded. "Makes sense."

Just then, Trystan began to wail in Cass's arms.

"Guess that's my cue to head back to my room," Cass said softly, "it was nice talking with you, Clara."

Clara grinned at Cassandra. "You too, Cass. Remember, if you ever need anything, just let me know."

Cass nodded. "I know. Thank you."

With those words, she turned and began to head back to her room... Only to be stopped by Varian.

"Hey, Cassie," he began in a cheerful manner, "I was wondering if you'd care to join me on a few quick errands around town today...?"

"As _great _as that sounds, Varian," Cass responded, sounding bitter and sarcastic, "I can't. I'm trying to get away from everything and just focus on Trystan."

Varian raised an eyebrow. "Is this... Is this about whatever it was that happened in Old Corona."

"... Maybe."

"Tell me," he said softly, "tell me what happened."

"And why would I do _that? _Seriously, what's it matter to you?"

"I... I just want to help you out."

Cass felt like exploding, bursting out in anger. Didn't he see that she didn't want or need anything from him?! Besides, what good could he do her?

"Unless you can stop disembodied voices of someone's ex from haunting them, I don't know how you could ever help me out."

Varian froze. "Would... Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Cassandra huffed in frustration, pushing past Varian in order to continue on her quest to her bedroom.

* * *

Cassandra just wanted to scream. She was growing antsy from staying inside for too long, but... She was afraid of what she had experienced in Old Corona, afraid of what her encounter then might mean for her later on in the future.

She had _just _found a routine, a little niche for herself... And now change was coming. Too much of it, and all at once.

But still... There was a part of her that longed for adventure, a curious side that constantly looked to be satiated. A part of her that wanted to know exactly what was going on, and why. And that part wasn't going to rest until everything had been figured out and put to rest.

So she spent most of her morning and early afternoon scouring encyclopedias and other such books that she had retrieved from the library, searching for a logical explanation, _any _logical explanation, for what happened while she was out in Old Corona. But she came up completely empty.

Old Corona was a completely ordinary farming village, and there was no such thing as ghosts or phantoms. Not that Cass had ever _believed _in such crap, but... You can't go about discarding an idea, especially one as plausible as this, even if you didn't truly believe in it. Still, none of the books exactly proved much to her. Nothing of any help.

Cass also knew not to discard the idea that magic could have caused this, but magic was far too wide-spread and unexplainable that it almost seemed to vague a thing to credit.

There was a knock at her door at the time she was about to completely give up and take a brief nap before dinner. She sighed deeply, standing up to get the door for her visitor.

It was Varian.

"What is it?" she asked quietly, her voice carrying a sudden bite to it, "and make it quick; I don't exactly have forever."

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that you weren't at lunch today, so... Clara and I put together and made you some room-service lunch."

He offered out a tray, one of the nice ones that the servants used to cater breakfast to the royal family each morning. On this tray was a simple sandwich, a salad, and a chocolate chip cookie.

Cass blinked, looking up at him in mild surprise. Varian just offered her a small smile.

"That's all I wanted to give you," he said, "didn't want you to, y'know, go hungry or something."

She couldn't help it; she laughed softly. "I... Thank you, Varian."

"Anytime, Cassie."

He turned to leave, but Cass stopped him.

"Wait. I... I might be able to use some advice of knowledge. If... If you could spare some."

Varian nodded. "Of course."

"Then come on in. This is probably going to take some time."

* * *

**ii. Truth Be Told**

* * *

Cassandra set her food off to the side. It wasn't something that could necessarily get _cold, _so she didn't mind if it sat out until Varian left. Besides, she wasn't terribly hungry at this point in time.

Varian took a seat and looked up at her inquisitively. "So... What's going on, Cassie?"

Cass took a deep breath in. She was already beginning to regret the sudden decision to bare a part of herself to him, though she knew that there would be no going back from this moment on.

She took a seat, too. "Please understand, there's quite a bit to this story. So I'd appreciate it if you would just..."

"Listen," he finished for her, "I know."

Cass nodded. "So... I guess we start about two years ago. Trystan's father. A man named Vince."

Somehow, the name sounded somewhat familiar to Varian, though he couldn't quite place it. He filed the name away for later, instead opting to listen as Cassandra spoke.

"He was an alcoholic, a constant drunk," she began, "that much was common knowledge, right next to the fact that he had... Extremely strong feelings for me."

Varian frowned slightly but said nothing.

"Anyways, I decided I'd give him _at least _one date, on the condition that he went sober for at least a month. And... He went two. During those two months, I saw who he was without the fogs of alcohol and such-- though, looking back, that personality may have been an act; I wouldn't put it beyond him-- and... I kind of began to fall for him."

From there, she gave Varian a small glimpse of what here life had been like with Vince, all the way up to Trystan. From there, she jumped to more recent events.

"While in Old Corona with you yesterday... When you were inside..." she was stumbling, searching for words, "I... I heard his voice. Vince's. He spoke to me and... And he mentioned Trystan."

Varian remembered her words from earlier, at the wedding: '_Her father's entirely out of the picture now. I don't care what he thinks of her.'_

Cass could see the wheels turning in his mind and decided to offer up the answer so she could finish up. "I... I never told him about her. I didn't have any idea what he would do if he ever found out about her, so I decided it'd be best to not tell him. Even then, I haven't seen him since the day we broke up so... That's made it a lot easier."

Varian nodded.

"But I was wondering... Do you know if there's, I don't know, some scientific reason behind my hearing his voice?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry... I don't think I can help you with this, Cassie. I can't say anything for certain, but it sounds more like something belonging in either the supernatural or mental department, not the scientific. Well, science where I'm involved, not any other kind of science..."

She frowned. "Okay. I can assure you, it's not mental. I'm not mentally unstable or anything."

"Actually, I have a theory that we're all at least a _little _mentally unstable, though some of us are clearly better at controlling it than others--"

She shot him a glare.

"We can't ignore the possibility," he finished meekly, "okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"I can't directly help you figure it out, but I can help you to the best of my abilities," he offered suddenly, "I'll do all that I can."

Cass blinked. "... Really?"

He nodded. "You have my word."

"... Thank you."

Just then, Trystan woke up and began to coo and gurgle from her cradle, which was resting by Varian's feet. Instantly, he leaned down to gently pick the infant up. Her small hazel eyes opened up and her gaze immediately landed on Varian. He smiled softly, gently stroking the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb.

And then he began singing softly, a lullaby half-remembered from his own childhood.

Cass watched and listened, more than ready to swoop in and grab Trystan if need be. But, somewhat to her surprise, there was no need. Varian was as kind and gently with the baby as anyone else she had ever seen. She ended up simply sitting back and watching him as he held her daughter and sang to her.

Her heart somewhat melted at the scene before her, which made little to no sense to her. She was a mighty fortress, and yet... There Varian was, knocking down the walls like Jericho. The walls had already been weakened, slightly chipped away by Trystan. But other than that...

Cass frowned, shaking her head slightly. There was no way she was letting this happen. After the entire Vince incident, she had strengthened her barriers, at least around people that weren't her family and select few friends. She felt safe within the palace walls, but safer still knowing that she controlled who she trusted, who she allowed near herself and her daughter.

All this to say, by his past actions earlier, as well as his current actions, Varian was somehow doing what she had believed to be impossible. He had somehow begun to break past her barriers.

Cass didn't know how she felt about that, nor just what she was going to do about it. All she knew was the fact that she had to be careful around him. Yes, she had just spilled her guts to him, and yes, she was letting him hold her daughter. But that didn't necessarily mean that she _trusted _Varian... Right?

After another moment or two, Trystan yawned and stretched her arms out as far as they would go before snuggling back into his hold, where there was warmth and comfort.

Varian chuckled softly, gently running the pad of his thumb over her cheek. And then his eyes widened as he remembered something all of a sudden.

"Oh, god... I'm sorry, Cassie, but I have to go."

She raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"The throne room," he answered, "King Frederic said there was someone that he would like me to meet. I think."

Truth be told, too much had been going on for him. The mystery of how his father could have been freed, and by _whom, _had clouded his mind as of late; he could hardly focus on what others said to or about him.

Cass frowned slightly but reached to take Trystan back anyways. "Alright. I'll see you later, then."

Varian smirked. "Of course you will."

And with those words, he left the room.

* * *

**iii. Marcus**

* * *

Varian wasn't terribly surprised when he entered the throne room to find several guards lined up on either side of the room, and the king and queen in their respective seats. There was one new face, standing just to the right of the king.

The strange man was elderly, but he looked kind and gentle. He had wild grey hair that matched his eyes, and a kind smile. He was dressed in a simple outfit, his pants and shirt covered by a full-body apron and his hands covered with sturdy gloves.

A scientist.

Varian slowly crossed the room, stopping mere feet from the base of the steps and hesitantly bowing before the king and queen. As he began to resume an upright position, Frederic spoke up.

"Varian," he began his address, "I would like for you to meet Marcus Pfeiffer."

The man-- Marcus-- descended the steps, already extending a hand for Varian to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Varian."

_A pleasure, eh?_

Clearly, Varian's kingdom-wide reputation had not yet reached Marcus's ears.

He shook Marcus's hand after a moment. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir."

Marcus laughed good-naturedly. "You can call me by my first name, Varian. I would prefer it, actually."

"Yes, sir... I mean, Marcus."

King Frederic cleared his throat before speaking again. "Marcus and his wife Annika moved here just last month from"-- he looked slightly disgusted as he said this last word-- "Equis."

"Okay...?"

Marcus spoke up next, before Frederic could steal all of his thunder. "I am a scientist-- a chemist and an inventor, much like you, my boy. And I am here to make a proposition."

Varian raised an eyebrow. "... I'm listening."

Marcus laughed softly. "You're mighty strong-willed, eh?"

The young man just nodded. One of the things that had stayed the same over the past four years in jail was definitely his stubborn streak.

"I'm looking for an apprentice," Marcus said finally, "someone for me to mentor, if you will. Someone as passionate and enthusiastic about science as I am. And you, Varian... You are my top candidate."

Varian blinked in surprise. "Me? Why?"

"Four years ago, you showed off a creation of yours at the great Science Exposition. You had created a whole new element, somehow figuring out how to transform however many pounds of sand that it was into a small amount of... Cassandrium, if I remember correctly."

Varian nodded, though he still looked slightly confused.

Marcus continued: "You had a certain passion and dedication to your project and presentation where everyone else lacked. Not only that; you seem like an incredibly personable young man. You'd make the perfect apprentice, in my opinion."

Varian flushed slightly before looking up at the king. Frederic merely nodded.

"I would like that," Varian said finally, "I... I would like that a lot."

"We'll have a guard bring you down to Marcus's lab every day starting tomorrow," Frederic said simply, "does that sound fair enough?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The corner of Frederic's mouth twitched upwards, the closest to a smile that Varian had ever seen out of him. "Alright, then. You are dismissed, Varian." 


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to post this before my wisdom teeth are done on Thursday...

**Into the Unknown**

* * *

Varian had not been expecting to be woken up by a loud pounding on the door at 5:30 in the morning. Yes, he had been planning to wake up within the next fifteen minutes anyway, but to be awakened so _rudely _before he was mentally prepared to get up and ready for the day...

He sat up with a groan, stretching his arms high above his head. And then the knock came again.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," a gruff voice on the other side of the door said, "the king wants you down at Marcus Pfeiffer's place by 6:15. It's a bit of a walk, so you'd better hurry up and get ready for the long day ahead."

Varian was already standing at this point, selecting an outfit from his wardrobe. "Alright, alright! I'm up and getting ready."

He quickly hurried through his morning routine before waking Ruddiger up. Hopefully Marcus was okay with raccoons; Varian couldn't imagine going anywhere without his best friend.

As soon as his animal companion was awake and fed, Varian opened the door. A strange man stood just outside, some guard that Varian had never met before.

"We'll run to the kitchen, grab you something for breakfast," the guard said in a low voice, "it'll have to be something small, so you can eat it as we head to the scientist's place."

Ruddiger climbed onto Varian's shoulders and made a quiet chittering sound. Varian chuckled softly, quickly scratching Ruddiger behind the ears before nodding.

"Okay. Let's do this."

* * *

It was exactly 6:15 when the guard knocked on Marcus's door. Almost immediately, an elderly woman opened the door and greeted the two with a crooked-- yet extremely warm-- smile.

"Welcome! You must be Varian."

Varian nodded, studying this woman. "Yeah. That... That's me."

She smiled kindly at him. "I'm Annika. Come in, come in!"

Varian stepped inside and she closed the door behind him.

"Here, take a seat on the couch. Marcus is busy with his morning routine; I can fix some breakfast up for you while you wait."

Her words came in an excited jumble, and yet Varian could understand everything that she said. Before he could respond, she had turned and gone into the kitchen to make him some breakfast.

It was odd. She actually seemed _excited _to have him there. Seriously, did either of these two know what he had done in the past?!

Ruddiger climbed down onto Varian's lap, gently batting at his boy's nose.

Varian laughed. "Oh, Rud... Things are really starting to look up once more, huh?"

Ruddiger chittered again, causing Varian to grin.

"You're here early," a quiet voice suddenly said, "you do know that you could have slept a little bit longer and _then _come on down, right?"

Varian looked up to see Marcus standing in the doorway that led back to a separate hallway, smiling kindly at him.

"A guard woke me up at 5:30 and said that the king wanted me here by 6:15. I thought that you two had discussed that...?"

"No!" Marcus exclaimed, "we had agreed on eight o'clock."

Varian raised an eyebrow.

"But... No worry. I can easily just send a note with you to remind him of the actual time."

Before Varian could respond to that, Annika had come back in with everyone's breakfast.

"Eat up, my boy," Marcus said, already digging into his food, "once we're finished with our meal here, it'll be right to work for the two of us."

* * *

Cassandra woke up to mass panic. Loud voices and footsteps in the hallway, ruckus leading way to general hullabaloo. She groaned, pulling her pillow over her head. As much as she was wondering what was going on, she was also extremely tired.

Cass's curiosity won out, though, causing her to stand from her bed and head to the door. She didn't even bother with putting on slippers or a robe. She was simply going to stand in the doorway, ask someone about whatever it was that was going on, and then scold everyone and tell them to shut up so that she could get a little more rest.

She opened the door and immediately saw that there was a small-- though rather rambunctious-- crowd gathered around a doorway a few rooms down.

The room that had been given to Varian.

Confused, she stepped into the hallway and began making her way towards the others.

"Enough!" she heard her father's loud, authoritative voice shout from above the loud chatter, "what in the world is going on here?!"

Cass tilted her head slightly, trying to listen to whatever response was given to her father.

"It's the boy," a young maid spoke up, "I was heading to begin my daily chores when I realized that his door was open, just a crack. I opened further and saw that neither he nor that raccoon of his were in there."

_Varian's missing? _Cass asked herself, _that's just great._

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this," Kade tried.

"Yeah," a servant stage-whispered to a maid, "he's out to kill someone again."

That got a few laughs and also caused several mumbled conversations to suddenly spark up.

"Everyone!"

Kade's loud, booming voice quickly got everyone's attention. They all turned to face him, going completely silent.

"I will send out some of my men to search for and find Varian. Until he is found, I want everyone to remain calm and resume their everyday activities. Am I clear?"

Everyone quietly mumbled some form of their assent and Cass turned to go back to her room. She had already spent too much time out in the hallway, apart from Trystan. But when she got back to her room, she wasn't greeted with the sight that she had expected to see.

Instead of seeing Trystan resting in her crib right next to the bed, Cass saw that the crib was now completely empty.

Her heart jumped into her throat and she hurried over to the crib, stupidly hoping that her daughter was somehow nearby. Of course, this was all for naught. The panic grew as she looked all around the room. Not a single person was in the room, save Cassandra, and there was no sign of anyone having been there within the past few minutes.

Her sudden panic caused the few remains of the Moon Stone within her to revive, instantly changing the color of both her hair and her eyes.

"... Cassandra?"

Cass jumped slightly at the sound of her father's voice, but her tone bit when she asked: "What?"

The captain stood in the doorway, watching his daughter with concern. "Is something the matter?"

"Hell yes, something's the matter!" she exclaimed, "she's _gone, _Dad. Something happened to Trystan."

As she said these words, her coloration began to return to normal. She was slowly calming down, though she wasn't going to allow herself to relax completely.

She went to grab her sword and an everyday outfit. She ducked behind a screen-- had that always been there? She didn't _remember _it being there-- to quickly change. There was no time for her to lose: the sooner she got going, the sooner Trystan would be in her arms once more.

She was _not _going to let her daughter be the next lost princess.

"Cassandra, slow down," Kade tried, "maybe someone on staff here noticed the open door and grabbed her to bring to you, or..."

Cass re-emerged, frowning. "Don't you think that I'd be holding her at this point, if that was the case? Dad, the people here would know to bring her to me, or at the very least _tell _me that they've taken my daughter."

She was on the move again, swiftly leaving the room and walking through the hallways. "An outsider must have snuck in during all that chaos and taken her. Varian's disappearance must've been intended to be a distraction, something that brought even my attention away from her..."

Or perhaps... His disappearance could possibly be the solution. She wouldn't put it past the young alchemist to take his own disappearance and use the ensuing panic as a shield while he took what-- or _who-- _he needed before leaving.

Though, if that theory was correct... _Why?_

It's already been said: there was nothing inherently special about Trystan, aside from the fact that she was a human being, much like you or me. So... Why?

Cass continued down towards the stables, a woman on a mission. She attracted several looks from maids and other servants, but she wasn't going to let herself get distracted so easily. Not when it was her daughter at stake.

Cass made it down to the stables, carrying only a few meager supplies that she had grabbed from around her room, all kept in a small satchel.

She didn't bother with saddling Maximus up; there was no time for her to lose. Already, her daughter had been stolen from practically right underneath her. She wasn't about to let anything else happen.

Not like that.

She knew that early every morning, stablehands put horseshoes on all the horses to allow them free rein. So all she had to do was get on Max and just... Go.

So that's exactly what she did.

* * *

When Varian arrived back at the palace later, he was met with chatter all around. He raised an eyebrow, curious. He knew that something gossip-worthy must have happened earlier that day-- the castle wouldn't be abuzz like this if not-- but was unsure of what exactly that was. Even Ruddiger seemed intrigued by this sudden life that the castle now held.

Varian pulled aside the first person he saw who wasn't talking to anyone. "What's going on here?"

"You didn't hear?" the woman asked, wide-eyed, "Lady Cassandra's daughter was taken from her earlier this morning, from practically under her nose!"

He frowned. That didn't sound right. Though he hadn't been there for long, he had been there long enough to know that Cassandra would never willingly let Trystan out of her sight, _ever. _And if someone dared try and take the infant, well, they'd have hell to pay from Cass.

"... Are you sure about that?"

She nodded eagerly and turned to leave. Varian was about to stop her and ask some more questions but was stopped himself by the sound of someone calling _his _name.

"Varian!"

He looked up to see the captain of the guard moving towards him. And Kade didn't look terribly happy.

"... Yes?"

Kade came to a stop a few feet away from Varian. "I have a small group of men going out sometime within the next hour or so to meet up with my daughter. Trystan was taken from her earlier this morning, and neither Cassandra nor I will rest until she is safely restored to us."

Varian raised an eyebrow. "And you're telling _me _this because...?"

The captain sighed. "What the hell happened to those brains of yours, kid? You'll be a part of the group I'm sending out to search for my granddaughter."

Varian had a thousand questions, but instead just nodded. "Yes, sir."

"That's more like it," Kade said quietly, "now, I want you to take the next hour or so to grab whatever you may need for the journey ahead."

He nodded again and ran off to do just that.

* * *

_Damn the fact that I'm human._

Cassandra wanted to scream, to lash out, to do _something. _But being human, she was much too tired to do much at all. She and Maximus had been going all day long and fatigue had begun to set in. She dismounted, going to feed Max with an apple.

"Get some rest, buddy," she said quietly, "we're going to be up and running again in just a few hours."

Max nickered, gratefully taking the Apple from her.

She took one out for herself and sat back against a tree to eat it. She sighed deeply, staring at the sky. How far had her culprit gotten? Were they even going anywhere with Trystan, or had they hidden her somewhere back in town, right under Cass's nose? What did they even _need _with Trys?

Too much had been plaguing Cass lately; Varian, Vince's voice, and now this...

_What if they're all somehow related?_

Though her mind asked that question, she couldn't quite see any possible way that all three things could connect, though she wouldn't be surprised if one of the two men was somehow connected to the abduction of her daughter...

She sighed again, closing her eyes and allowing herself to succumb to a restless sleep.

* * *

When Cassandra awoke a few hours later, she could hear hoofbeats. Several sets of them, from the sounds of it.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes before looking all around her. There was a valley down below, through which she could see a distance to Corona, far off. In between her and the kingdom was a group of horses and their riders, charging towards her.

She frowned. They could be either friend or foe, and she wasn't about to take any risks. She pulled out her sword, ready to engage these people in combat if she needed to.

By the looks of it, she had just a few minutes until the newcomers came along.

Cass sat there, awaiting their arrival. When they got close enough, she was relieved to see moonlight glint off of something golden on nearly all of the men: their Coronan armor. Reinforcements.

When they finally made it up to where she was, she studied them all. Ten guards and some other man, who shied back a little.

_Fairly generous pickings, _she noted, _good enough for a few small search parties._

Already, the strategic part of her mind was churning with ideas and plans and the likes...

She would do what it took to get her daughter back, and these men were the resources given to her. She'd have to put them to their best use.


	7. Chapter Six

**i. Nothing Left to Lose**

* * *

“You know you can go to sleep, right?” Cassandra asked Varian, “that’s kind of the point of one of us watching over camp at a time…”

Varian nodded. “I know, Cassie. But… I’d like to talk to you for a little bit.”

She raised an eyebrow. “About…?”

“Cass, we haven’t seen each other in _four years_. I’ve got the basic backgrounds on Trystan and Vince, but… A lot more has happened in the past four years, I can tell.”

“Will you _stop_ with the whole ‘hounding me for information’ thing already?!” she blurted out, “look, I know it’s been some time, but four years hasn’t changed the fact that I don’t do much talking, especially not about my life. I am _not_ an open book like the princess is, Varian. I thought you of all people knew that about me.”

There was silence between the two for a minute or so, interrupted only by the usual sounds of the nighttime. And then…

“I know how you’re feeling,” he said softly, “how it feels to have someone snatched out from right underneath you… To lose someone you love…”

She wasn’t looking at him, but she _was_ listening. At the very least, it gave her something to do…

He continued. “I lost my mother at a young age. I have… Only vague memories of her. I’m not even sure if half of them are real anymore; they’re so hazy. But I do know that I loved her. So did Dad. And she loved _us_…”

He sighed a little. “Everyone says she got terribly sick one winter and died. But… Something tells me otherwise. If that were the case, wouldn’t I have even just a slight memory of waking up and realizing she was ill? Wouldn’t I remember the _funeral_?”

Cass remained silent, unsure of whether or not he was actually looking for a response, or if he was even aware that he was still talking to her in the first place.

Varian seemed to realize this, too. “Sorry. Back to the point I was trying to make. Whatever happened, I lost her. And then, years later, I… Well, you know.”

“You lost your dad,” she offered quietly, “yeah, I know.”

“Yeah,” Varian agreed, “though… I lost a lot more because of that. My mind, the sense of right and wrong. I crossed several lines back then that I know I shouldn’t have…”

“Yup.”

“... I lost all sense of hope for the future, especially after my defeat in Old Corona.”

Cass couldn’t help it. “What sort of… ‘Hope for the future’ did you have?”

“Lots of things, Cassie!” he said dramatically, eliciting a small laugh from her, “I had lots of hopes and dreams. First and foremost was a normal life with my father, a solid relationship where we both knew we could count on each other and… And I knew that he was proud of me…”

He went quiet at that, leaning back a little so he could stare at the night sky.

Cass turned to face him. “Yeah? What else?”

“Well… To not be a huge dumbass. To get to live a normal life, maybe even get to settle down and start a family of my own one day…”

“Oh?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, “was there a certain some_one_ in those hopes?”

Of all the times for her fellow ladies of the court to start rubbing off on her…

Varian was grateful for the darkness and how it hid his sudden, deep blush. “Well… I suppose there was one girl that caught my attention. She was full of beauty and grace, and she had the heart and spirit of a lion…”

Cass chuckled lightly. “Sounds like someone I’d either really get along with or butt heads with at every little juncture.”

Varian felt torn. On the one hand, he was somewhat relieved that it obviously hadn’t quite hit her that _she_ was the woman to whom he was referring. On the other, though… Could she seriously be so _oblivious_? For years, there had only been one woman who he had _ever_ admired in the way that he admired her. And somehow, she couldn’t see it.

_Maybe it’s for the better,_ he told himself, _after all, it’s not like she would ever notice you. Not like that, anyways._

“Mm-hmm,” he replied absently, beginning to pick at the grass near his leg.

“I always thought it was kind of pointless,” she said after a moment or so, “dating. Love. The works. And then I met him and thought… I thought maybe it _wasn’t_ pointless, just as long as you were with the right person. But I’m starting to realize that that wasn’t true at all.”

Varian looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

She continued on, not even bothering to look at him. “You can’t account for the idiots in this world; you can’t take into detail every asshole and all that they’ve ever done. Hell, you can’t even do that for yourself. And that raises the question: why willingly bring someone like that close to you? Why would you allow yourself to fall for someone who will likely cheat on you or use you or straight-up abandon you? Why bother setting yourself up for disappointment like that?”

Varian was sitting and watching her in a stunned silence. She had gone from holding all these thoughts and feelings close to her chest to… Well, _this_. This was the most open and vulnerable that he had ever seen her, and he was hanging on every word.

“... I started letting people past my barrier. Look where I am now.”

Varian opened his mouth to speak, but Cassandra beat him to it.

“Now, enough of that crap,” she announced, standing, “it’s almost sunrise and I need someone to help me distribute the supplies.”

* * *

**ii. The Search Begins**

* * *

The sun had been up for nearly an hour when the other men began to wake up. There wasn’t much for breakfast, just a few sandwiches made from the sparse supplies that they had accumulated.

“James, Thomas,” Cassandra began to speak while they ate, not wanting to waste a single moment, “when your respective teams finish up, grab a pile of supplies and begin your search. I marked separate areas for each group to search on the maps; be sure to stick with them.”

Varian looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. _She had really taken charge, hadn’t she?_ But then again, what else had he expected of the daughter of the captain of the guard?

“Of course, same rules apply for my group,” she said firmly, “there will be no stopping for anything but rest and refuel, no return home, until she is found. Understood?”

The men all gave some form of grumbled assent, and Cass nodded before allowing everyone to succumb to silence yet again, finishing up with their meager meals.

* * *

As soon as Craig finished with the final bite of his sandwich, Cassandra stood up and checked yet again to see that all of their supplies were properly attached to one of the horses before getting on Max’s back. Craig and Jonah both followed suit, each getting on the horses that they had ridden there. Only Varian remained, looking somewhat uncertain of himself.

“What is it?” Cass asked gruffly.

God, she didn’t have the _time_ for this! What the hell was wrong with him?!

“I had to hitch a ride on the way here,” he said softly, “and I don’t exactly want to hitchhike off one of you guys without invitation…”

His voice trailed off when Cass reached down, grabbing both his wrists and roughly pulling him up onto Maximus so that he was right behind her.

“There. Your means of transportation.”

Varian knew that he shouldn’t have been terribly surprised by just how strong Cass was, but he found himself looking at her in wide-eyed wonder nonetheless. He was still in complete and utter _awe_ of her, every little aspect and piece… He knew that it was a futile feeling on his part, but he honestly couldn’t help it. Not a bit.

“... Thank you."

She sighed. “Whatever. Let’s just get going.”

The sooner they left… The sooner she would get to see her daughter again, hear her soft coos and gurgles. The sooner they could all go about their everyday lives once more.

She didn’t even bother checking the others to see if they were ready; she simply leaned down and held on tightly to Max, urging him to start moving and thus beginning the search.

* * *

**iii. Captain Cass**

* * *

Hours of fruitless riding had passed by, and Cassandra was beginning to lose hope. She knew it was stupid to expect even the smallest of clues, and especially so _soon_, but she couldn’t help it. She was a worried mother who had lost her daughter. She felt that she had a right to think such stupid and illogical thoughts at this given moment.

“Hey, guys?”

Cass whipped her head up to look at Jonah. “What?”

The young man didn’t give a verbal response; instead, he simply lifted a hand in order to point off into the distance. Cass’s gaze followed where his finger pointed, and she nodded a little when she saw it.

“Well, boys,” she said, “it looks like we’ve just hit our first town.”

* * *

They entered the town just before sunset, just as the citizens were beginning to shuffle about in order to get home for the night. Looking around her, Cass frowned slightly. As much as she wished to stay up for the duration of the night, to scour every last inch of the place for any trace whatsoever of her daughter, she knew it would be best to wait until morning to do so. It would be brighter outside, and the people would be milling about once more.

“Craig,” she said, “I want you to find the nearest inn and get us one or two rooms. It looks like we’re going to have to stay the night tonight.”

_Though I wish that wasn’t the case._

Craig gave her a small salute. “Yes, captain.”

As he left, Cass had to bite her lip not to smile widely when he called her that. “Captain.” It had a nice ring to it…

She turned to face the other two as she hopped down. “I don’t care what you two do right now; I’m going to go and question as many people as I can before going to bed.”

Jonah and Varian nodded, the former immediately turning to follow Craig to find a place for them to stay while the latter offered Cass a small smile.

“There are quite a few people out right now,” he said quietly, “I’ll talk to some of them, too, see if they know anything.”

She offered him a thin smile, one that was as genuine and kind a smile as she could currently muster. “Thank you, Varian.”

And without another word, she turned and went to begin the questioning process.

* * *

“So… What about you? Did you get any leads?”

Varian and Cassandra were in their hotel room-- she had insisted on sharing a room with him, simply for the facts that (a) she knew that he would listen to her ideas and plans about what to do next and (b) she still wanted to keep an eye on him at all times-- the young man perched on the edge of the bed as the woman sat at the small desk, poring over her map and notes.

“... Maybe. Several people claim to have vague memories of a cloaked figure coming through here a few days ago, carrying a small bundle of blankets. Nobody has a clear memory, though, and they said if I wanted a better account, I would have to hold out, at least until morning. There’s some guy here known for his memory, but he’s already gone home for the night, so I have to wait until morning to even _talk_ to him…”

Varian nodded. “Makes sense, I guess…”

She gave an exasperated groan, slamming her fist on the desk and effectively startling Varian. His wide, blue eyes focused on her, the concern in them evident. Though years may have passed, he still cared deeply for her. Perhaps a little _too_ deeply…

“Cassie?” he asked softly, letting the word trail off into an unspoken question.

She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s… It’s nothing. Just… Try and get some sleep, okay?”

Varian raised an eyebrow but decided not to comment, instead just following her instructions. Once she was certain that Varian had obeyed, Cass stood up.

She didn’t need sleep, or so she kept telling herself. What she needed was knowledge, knowledge that Trystan was safe, and in her arms once more… She didn’t care what it took: she was going to find her daughter, and she wasn’t going to rest until she did.

It hardly mattered to her that other people didn’t know or care about her predicament. What mattered, she told herself, was doing all that she could to at least get a lead while she was here.

It was that logic that prompted her to grab her cloak-- brought along for her by one of the men to shield her from any cold-- and cross towards the door. She opened it, slipped the cloak on, and stepped outside of the room.

* * *

A loud noise startled Varian awake. He sat bolt upright in the bed, looking frantically around the room in hopes of immediately sighting the source of the noise… But coming up completely empty. Hell, even Cassandra was missing from the room.

“Cassie?”

Shoot. If she wasn’t in here… He massaged his temples. He knew how important Trystan was to Cass, how much most any child meant to their parents, but… He also felt that she was going a tiny bit overboard. No sleep, no food, not even so much as a brief moment of rest… This was going too far.

Varian moved to stand, going to check outside the window. He frowned. The center of the town was just outside the glass panes, and in said center were now several of the black rocks, jagged and severe. In the midst of the rocks stood a woman whose back was turned to him. Her short hair was an eerily unhuman shade of fluorescent _blue_, but that somehow wasn’t what made Varian do a double take. Instead, it was her outfit. An outfit that, even from behind-- and in the dark-- he could easily identify as Cassandra’s.

“What in the…?”

Several people had left their homes in order to gape at Cass as she stood there. One man opened his mouth to begin berating her-- _like she would listen to a complete stranger when she’s upset_, Varian thought, fighting a loud snort-- and immediately, Varian saw her posture begin to fall ever so slightly.

And then… She turned tail and ran for it. As she ran, the blue faded from her hair, though the black rocks remained.

The young alchemist frowned before gathering up his own cloak. He was going to go after her, and hell if he didn’t at least _try_ and calm her down.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang hits a bit of a bump in their search.
> 
> Also: we get a brief update on Quirin and Trystan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first of two chapters I have written and will upload this month. The other one, chapter eight-- which is extremely short-- should be up sometime within the next week or so.

**i. The River, the Moon, the Stars**

* * *

_Varian had seen them out the window, the two women that were headed straight for the house. He had visitors… A first, even if they were fairly unwanted. He grinned to himself, ready to drop his experiments in order to show exactly what he could do when it came to intruders._

_This was his time to shine, and he was going to have fun with it._

_He used some levers and buttons that he had randomly placed throughout his lab in order to trigger the door to open and fog to appear… He had a bit of a flair for the dramatic. In fact, he hardly even bothered with removing the safety gear that he had been wearing in order to conduct the aforementioned experiments, instead opting to meet his ‘guests’ as he was._

_Varian then stepped out of the shadows and smoke when he heard the minor explosion that signified that one of the women had triggered the raccoon trap. Perfect._

_“What. Do you. Want?”_

_After posing that question, his brain went in two directions: one which listened to the response given to him and the other which studied the other two. One of the women was the princess of Corona-- he’d recognize that long, golden hair anywhere, alongside those wide, innocent green eyes-- while the other… He froze._

_The princess’s companion was stunning, beautiful in her own way. She perfectly contradicted the princess: where Rapunzel’s eyes were wide and shining, this woman’s eyes were narrow and analytical. Her hair was dark and short, and her face was extremely pale, almost like she had rarely ever seen the sun. She stood in a guarded stance, whereas the princess seemed more easygoing and… Slightly awkward._

_Where Rapunzel was the sun, this strange new beauty was the moon._

_The princess then mentioned the one word, the taboo in Varian’s mind and home:_

_“Magic?!” he asked, his voice amplified and deepened, “I do not work with magic!”_

_He then smirked a little, throwing the mask off and addressing them in his normal voice. “I mean, technically it’s not magic, it’s alchemy. But hey, don’t sweat it.”_

_Even as he conversed with the princess, though, and got the opportunity to check out her hair and run tests on it… He kept on shooting discreet glances in the woman’s direction, studying her as best he could without being obvious about it._

_She truly was something else..._

* * *

Cassandra ran as fast and as far as she possibly could before finding herself an alleyway to duck into. She sat down on the ground, not caring if she cramped from sitting so soon after sprinting like that. Her breaths came in short, ragged bursts, and while she would never admit it to anyone, she was fighting back tears.

Of all the luck… She scoffed. Of _course_ this had happened. Of course her one chance at possibly getting a solid memory out of had left town with his wife earlier on, before Cass and her crew had even arrived. Because why the hell not?

“... Cassandra?”

She groaned, pulling the hood of her cloak over her head. “Leave me alone, Varian.”

His soft footsteps made their way towards her, and she rolled her eyes. Was she seriously going to have to teach the boy genius what to do when someone requested something of him?! The footsteps stopped, followed by the sounds of him leaning back against the wall slightly.

“Cassie…”

“My best chance at getting an answer is _gone_,” she said bitterly, “left to head further out, towards the Corona walls.”

Cass sighed slightly, the dejection she was feeling clear in the small sound.

Varian thought for a second. “He’s probably just taking a break from whatever responsibilities he has here. Kind of… Well, kind of like how _you_ should probably take a break, rest a little.”

She was on her feet in no time, glaring at him. He couldn’t help but notice that there were now flecks of the unhuman blue in her eyes, scattered amongst a field of hazel. _What…?_

“You want me to just… Let go of this? Even for a few minutes? Varian, that’s not how this is going to work.”

“Then tell me how it does,” he retorted, “because I’d like to see just how not taking some time for yourself would be a bad thing.”

“_Taking time off like that never found any missing people, Varian_! Maybe that’s why they never found Rapunzel in the initial searches twenty-three years ago: everyone, including my father, allowed themselves to take breaks in the midst of the searches. To call it a night every night.”

“Cassie…”-- she had to look away from his big blue eyes, for fear of caving-- “please. Even if that’s the truth, going for so long without rest… That’s not healthy, for _anyone_, both physically and emotionally.”

“And what would you propose to remedy that, genius?”

Yes, her tone was biting, but Varian would claim the victory for now. “Late dinner, just the two of us. And then mandatory sleep.”

She snorted. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“And dinner’s on me,” he added hastily, “if, y’know. If that’s a selling point.”

She had to smile a little. “Fine. But just this once.”

Varian smiled brightly, quickly reaching out to push the hood off her head. “You look better without that covering your face and hair, milady.”

She rolled her eyes but said nothing. When he reached for her hand, his sights already set on an all-night diner, she didn’t protest, instead letting him lead the way.

* * *

There weren’t that many patrons inside the diner, not at this hour. And what few people were in there had all borne witness to Cassandra’s earlier display, which subsequently led to them all shying away into their own separate corners and leaving the two alone. Even the waitress seemed fairly on edge when she came to take their orders and noticed just who her customers were.

“Great,” Cass said softly, “now I can say with confidence that a whole entire town is terrified of me…”

“For what it’s worth,” he replied, “I’m not afraid of you. Maybe I _should_ be, but… I’m not.”

She offered him a weak smile. “I… Thanks.”

“But… You know that I have to ask.”

She snorted derisively. “Of course you do. This one counts as a freebie, for dinner.”

Varian leaned in, ready to listen to whatever tale she had to tell him now.

“This one… The roots started growing four years ago, I guess.”

Cass steepled her fingers as she tried to find the words. “I, umm… Well, I kind of took the Moon Stone. From literally right under Raps’s nose.”

She decided not to share her reasoning for that, not at the moment. Who was she to expect him to believe her, especially when she herself hardly believed the nuances of her in-the-moment reasoning?

Varian blinked. “Oh?”

She nodded. “Yeah. The moment I grabbed it… I could _feel_ it. The power, coursing through me, as natural as blood. Except, of course… Not natural. Stronger.”

He was looking at her with wide, concerned eyes. She sighed before continuing yet again.

“I… I thought that I was doing it to _help_,” she whispered, “to help keep Raps safe, and to help clear Corona of those damned rocks…”

She shook her head, unable to say anything more. What had initially started as a selfless act had turned into more: a rift between herself and her best friend, a sudden drive and hunger for _more_… And she wasn’t entirely unconvinced that, perhaps, her having grabbed the Stone in the first place had led her to where she was now, in more places than one.

Varian nodded his understanding and, thankfully, didn’t ask more of her.

It was at that moment that their food came, so they both began to eat their respective meals in silence.

Varian kept on sneaking glances over at Cassandra, though. He was still just… In complete awe of her. As much as he tried to hide them, his feelings for her always seemed to resurface every time that he looked at her, or even simply heard her voice…

As he ate, he tried to push the thoughts and feelings aside, but was interrupted by another string of thoughts: _Smart. Beautiful. Bold and daring. Kind. Mysterious…_

The mental list kept going on, an endless array of all of Cassandra’s best traits. And, looking over at her, Varian didn’t for once try to stop it.

* * *

**ii. Briar & Bramble**

* * *

The following morning, they left the town. It was for the best, they had decided: their one big hope there wasn’t available, and even if he _was_, Cassandra had scared everyone out of their wits the day before. Nobody would want Crazy Rock Lady to remain there, and if somebody did… Well, they were completely out of their mind.

And so it was that Cass and crew began to pack their meager supplies before heading out and picking up the search right where they had left off the day before.

“We’re heading east, right?” Craig asked suddenly.

“Yes,” Cass said hesitantly, “why?”

“Storms typically come in from the west, faster than we’re traveling.”

She nodded. “You know your meteorology. Good for you.”

Varian poked her in the side. “I think he’s trying to point something out to you, Cassie. Look.”

She looked over her shoulder and frowned when she noticed exactly _what_ Craig was talking about: an entire wall of clouds the darkest shade of black that she had ever seen coated the skies behind them. A large flash of lightning jolted through the entire cloud cover, followed by the faint sounds of rolling thunder.

“Shit,” she muttered, “because why the hell not?”

Immediately after looking behind her, she turned her head yet again, scanning for any available place that might give them shelter.

“There,” Jonah said, pointing off into the distance, “there’s a cave over there.”

Cass frowned. Caves were not her ideal pit stop, even when they were going to be temporary-- but currently needed-- shelter. But, as far as she could see… It was their only option. There was nothing else for _miles_, let alone anything that could be used as shelter for four people.

The thunder sounded again, this time deeper and closer. The storm was traveling fast.

_Fine._

Cass urged Maximus into a gallop, heading towards the cave. Safety. Shelter. Protection from driving rains, hopefully. Varian held tightly to her-- she would have reprimanded him if it weren’t for the fact that he was doing something that was only natural for a passenger, and he wasn’t necessarily being handsy or anything-- as they began crossing to their temporary destination, and she checked over her shoulder to see that the others were right behind.

As soon as they made it inside the cave, it began to rain: softly at first, then in a flurry of activity.

She sighed deeply, not even looking up at the other three as she spoke. “Get out everything we need to set up camp. It looks like we’re going to be here for a little while.”

* * *

The storm showed no signs of stopping. Outside, lightning cracked and thunder rolled. Rain was coming down fast and furious, so much so that Cassandra couldn’t make anything out past the wall of water just outside the cave’s entrance. The deep frown on her face did nothing to express her frustrations at being trapped inside like this.

_I could be out there right now searching for Trys…_

Instead, she was stuck with nothing to do except wait for the stupid storm to pass.

She stood and paced the length of the cave, right inside the entryway, as if something as simple as her movements could stop the weather. Which, of course, was silly and naive, though it managed to soothe her all the same.

As she walked back and forth, the other three hung near the back, setting up camp and searching to see if they could find anything that would be of use setting up a fire. Varian had taken charge of this aspect, his mind speedily taking in everything and just as quickly outputting instructions and thoughts. Craig and Jonah simply followed what he said, thinking it was best not to question his words or his methods.

“Cassie?”

The single word caught Cassandra’s attention. She didn’t stop her brisk movements, but she did incline her head towards his voice, her way of indicating that she was indeed listening. Varian sighed slightly, moving closer to her.

“Why don’t you stop that and rest for a little? Sit down with us.”

She looked over towards where they had successfully and completely set up camp without her. Craig and Jonah were now seated around the meager fire that Varian had managed to create, talking as they ate their sandwiches.

“I’m fine, kid,” she said bitterly, “you do that resting stuff, okay?”

Varian’s brow was furrowed, and she caught the movement and quickly interjected before he could respond.

“I don’t see _why_ you’re so concerned with this. I’ve been through times before where I got little to no rest, and guess what? I never crashed. I’ll grab myself a sandwich in a few minutes-- look, kid, I know that I have to eat at some point or other; I’m not dumb-- but other than that, I’m not caving.”

He frowned. “So you’re planning to just pace back and forth until the storm’s passed? Cassandra, that could take _days_. That was a solid wall of black clouds out there, Cass.”

“Like I give a damn,” she muttered, “just… Leave me be, okay? I don’t need your constant concern and worry.”

“You should have thought of that before letting me in on a few things, then. Before your little outburst in the previous town.”

“You know I couldn’t help that!”

“But you _could_ help the fact that you later on explained the situation with the Moon Stone to me,” Varian pointed out, “you’re good at keeping your thoughts and feelings close to your chest, Cassandra. And the fact that you haven’t even fought me to keep them that way… That’s something that leads me to believe that maybe, just maybe, you _want_ someone to know these things. You _want_ someone to have concern for you.”

Cass snorted derisively. “And just _why_ would I want something like that?”

She was an extremely independent woman, someone who never needed anyone because of the fact that she could easily fend and provide for herself. What Varian was hinting at… It was not the truth. She wasn’t trying to send out some… Some _cry for help_.

Right?

“You’re independent,” he said matter-of-factly, “but maybe you’re getting tired of it being that way. You’re tired of being the only one in the know about the goings-on in your head and in your heart. You’re tired of being the only person that you can rely on to be there for you and your daughter at all times. As for the Moon Stone, it terrifies you. You have no idea just how much power it contains, or if it will consume you whole, regardless of your health or your resistance to it.”

He looked ready to continue, but Cass held up a hand. “None of those ideas are true. You’re reading _way_ too much into it.”

She was mulling over his words, though. Trying to match the ideas with thoughts and feelings that she currently had. He was right on at least one count: she was fairly freaked about the power that the Moon Stone held. But more than that, she found that she was scared of the implications. The Stone always seemed to flare up whenever it chose, leaving some moments of her frustration alone while taking advantage of others to temporarily build its power upon. Often, she was able to calm herself after it took hold, but still… There were moments that she was half-tempted to give in. There was such power and strength in the damn thing… And maybe it wouldn’t hurt to simply succumb to such things. But then she would remind herself of the fact that allowing herself to do this could potentially have consequences, and it would be over until the next time.

“Say what you will,” Varian said with a defeated shrug, “but I stand by my word.”

With those words, he turned on his heel and headed to join the other two, leaving Cassandra alone again. As soon as he was back with the others, Cass stopped. She went to lean against the wall of the cave near the entrance, allowing herself to slump down to the ground. She gazed out at the seemingly endless rain, sighing.

Varian was right. Besides, he owed it to herself to rest. What else could you do while trapped in a cave while a storm raged outside.

“Where the hell are you, Trystan?”

* * *

The storm finally let up the next day, just as the group was eating lunch… Yet another meal that consisted solely of sandwiches. Even Cassandra, who had once thought that she would be able to survive on the same thing for three meals a day, several days in a row, was beginning to grow tired of the food.

Everyone was growing antsy, ready to get out of the damned cave once and for all. The things that they could do in there were limited, and they often submitted themselves to conversations spoken while pacing back and forth, trying their best to keep feeling in their legs and bodies. At one point, Cass even taught the others some swordsmanship, some rather impressive tricks she had picked up from books and knew they wouldn’t be taught anywhere else. (This often led to poor Varian often sitting on the ground, completely out of breath or slightly injured). So when the sounds of the rain outside finally began to subside, there was a palpable sense of relief within their group.

Cass looked outside, grinning triumphantly. “Looks like we’re going to be up and running sometime within the next few hours or so. Thank heavens for that; I’m sick and tired of being cooped up inside like this.”

“Hey, little Cap?” Craig piped up, “I’d like to point out the fact that it rained for _two solid days_.”

“Uh-huh…”

“So the ground outside… It’s probably extremely muddy.”

Cass groaned. He was most likely correct, of course. But did he _really_ have to be correct this time around? After all, he was probably just as desperate to get out of there as she was…

They’d definitely have to test out the situation later. For now, though, it was time to resupplement the fire before dinner.

* * *

**iii. In the Dark**

* * *

“Could someone please remind me just what I’m doing here?”

Quirin had been in this room, in the dark, for quite some time now. While it had definitely been over a week, the lack of sunlight and the monotony of his new everyday schedule made it very easy to forget just how long he had been there for. Even with the occasional visits from the elder of his two sons, and the daily meals, it was difficult to tell anything. It wasn’t made any easier by the fact that he had never even been told _why_.

Vince let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t you want to spend some time with your oldest son?”

“Maybe I do,” Quirin replied, “but that doesn’t necessarily explain _this_.”

“Well… We might be using you as bait, just as we’re using _her_.”

Vince motioned vaguely across the room to where a tiny form rested on one of two cots: Trystan.

“Bait? _We_?” he asked, narrowing his eyes, “just what is going on here?”

Trystan began crying softly, and Quirin immediately went to pick her up and hold her close. All of these endless days, most of which he had spent with this little girl, brought back memories of the early days of his fatherhood. This baby needed him, and it helped him to focus on something other than just how isolated he truly was.

“Each of you is bait for a certain person, a different person for each of you. Her mother, and your other son. My brother.”

“Why?”

Vince fought back a sigh. “Do I have to explain _everything_ to you? You’re the one who told me about the Child of the Moon in the first place, and about the Sons."

“You think…?”

“Yes,” Vince said simply, “I do think that it’s either Varian or that woman, Cassandra. We initially thought it was the little girl there, but some testing has told us otherwise.”

“Testing? On an innocent child?”

Trystan had calmed down at this point, snuggling into Quirin’s chest. He looked down at her, studying her as best as he could in the dim light. He could easily see it now, her resemblance to Cass. He’d only met the woman once or twice, but he could definitely see it now.

“And based on the fact that you just said she’s bait… You took her from her home, didn’t you?”

“Does that _matter_, Father?” Vince sneered, “does it really matter to you, just how I acquired her?”

Quirin frowned. “Maybe I could have done a better job as a father, fought for you and your mother. I should have pled my case, asked you guys to stay. Maybe then, I could have done my part to raise you right…”

“This has nothing to do with you, or how I was raised. This is about something else: power.”

“Vincent…”

Vince scowled. “Don’t you dare. You have absolutely no right to try and guilt me for _anything_. Do notice that I haven’t tried to guilt _you_ for being such a deadbeat all those years.”

Quirin sighed in defeat. “I was just going to ask you what her name was.”

“Her name?”

Vince sounded more than a little surprised at the question.

“Yes, her name. It seems that she and I are going to be roommates for awhile, so I might as well know her name.”

“That would be Trystan.”

Without any further words, Vince turned to leave the room, and his father with it.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and rather to-the-point. But it's an extra finished chapter for March, so...

**i. Beauty, Perfection**

* * *

Varian looked over at Cassandra, studying her in the dim firelight. This was by far the calmest that he had ever seen her at-- just about every encounter that he’d had with her in the past, something big and crazy had been happening. But even then… He could still tell just how tense and stressed she was in the moment. And he completely understood: so much had been placed on both of their plates in such a short amount of time. Vince and Trystan, Quirin’s sudden (and still mysterious) freedom… On and on and on it went.

_The stress doesn’t take away from her beauty, though…_

She reached to tuck some of her dark hair behind her ear as she spoke, sharing some anecdote or other about one of the few times that she had been given the chance to act as guard.

Her hair was starting to grow a little longer, he noticed, seeing as it was now past its usual length of ‘down to the chin.’ Her hazel eyes were bright, and not just because of the fire that was in front of her. They were alive with all the hopes and dreams that she harbored.

Craig and Jonah were both leaning in, listening to her story with rapture. For once, Cassandra hardly seemed to mind such a fact: instead, she continued to tell her story with such gusto, it made Varian wonder if she’d ever considered becoming a professional storyteller.

When she had wrapped up with telling the tale, she leaned back against the cave wall. “Let’s plan on heading out tomorrow morning, okay? Get all the rest you think you’re going to need tonight; we’ll head out as soon as everyone’s woken up.”

Craig and Jonah agreed, as did Varian. The latter went off to search for what few sticks they hadn’t already found, something they could use to sustain the fire until morning. He hoped that maybe, when he came back, he could have a few moments alone with Cassandra.

* * *

**ii. Heart to Heart**

* * *

Cassandra looked up when the sticks and twigs were dropped down next to her. She hadn’t even realized that somebody had gone off in the first place.

Varian was taking a seat next to the small pile, taking a rather large stick and gently prodding at the small teepee of flames before them. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she responded, quirking an eyebrow, “you know, days may have passed, but that doesn’t necessarily change the fact that we only need _one_ person to keep watch…”

She was smirking, though. Every evening that they had spent in this damned cave, Varian had stayed up later than the other two, to talk with her or to simply keep her company. She was extremely grateful for this, though she would never admit the fact.

He laughed softly, causing her to chuckle a little. He studied her from under his eyelashes, suddenly… Well, suddenly a little shy.

In the past, he had been able to tone things down. He was a little bolder around her, sure, but he thought that he’d gotten pretty good at keeping her at arm’s distance recently. She was just a friend, and a friend she would always remain. As much as he wished differently, he knew better. And yet, staying in this cave with her for multiple days, being in her group on this search… For whatever reason, _that_ was enough to bring the feelings back, to remind him of all that he had felt for her in the past.

“Varian?” she asked softly, “you okay?”

There had been no witty response to her previous comment, or any response at all. That was completely unnatural, at least in her book.

“Just fine,” he said quickly, “just… Lost in thought.”

She quirked an eyebrow. She knew that he was telling her the truth, but not all of it. He was holding something back. Hell, she could tell that much even if he _wasn’t_ avoiding eye contact with her and forcing himself to focus on the flames.

“What are you thinking about, then?”

Varian bit his lip, but the answer slipped out of his mouth regardless. “... You.”

Cass inhaled sharply. Of course. Because why not?

“Me?”

It was worded as a gentle prompt, a simple question to encourage him to elaborate, but there was a subtle edge to her voice, a tone which hinted that she did indeed know and was just daring him to explain it all for himself.

“I… Yeah,” he muttered, sounding a little frustrated, “just… The past. Well, kinda.”

She folded her arms over her chest, clearly expecting a far clearer answer out of him.

“Cassie… I can’t do this, okay?” he said, beginning to rake his fingers through his hair, “it’s honestly a miracle that I’ve been able to be near you so often for the past few days without blowing a gasket or something similar.”

Cass was half-tempted to tease him about that remark-- _‘I should have known you were part machine, kid’_\-- but chose not to. Her mind was already going crazy with the sudden realization that his old feelings for her weren’t actually that old at the moment. She narrowed her eyes at him, waiting for him to come clean and simply admit to her what she already knew.

Varian noticed this and let out a long sigh. “It’s just… Ever since I first saw you, I liked you. A lot, and probably a lot more than I should have. I was stupid to think that I could, you know. Ignore those old feelings.”

Okay. Maybe Cass had been wrong to want him to just… Tell her. As soon as he said those words, she frowned.

He continued quietly. “I know it’s silly. My heart and mind are at war, Cassie: my heart says that I love you, and to… To just _go for it_. But my mind says to do no such thing, that you and I are friends and that I need to work on cultivating that friendship.

“That sounds like the better option,” Cassandra said stiffly, “listen to that mind of yours, okay? Your heart’s spreading lies.”

Varian frowned slightly. “How do you mean?”

“Do you really think that you… That you _love_ me?” she asked, “because I know for a fact that you don’t.”

He blinked, stunned by the harsh words coming from her mouth.

“Love’s such a strong word,” she said flatly, by means of explanation, “especially for someone you hardly know, like me.”

He opened his mouth to respond when suddenly, a bird came flying into the cave. Cass looked up at it and raised an eyebrow.

“Owl?”

The bird swooped down, dropping a note in her lap before heading off again. She picked it up and unrolled it, beginning to read. The more she read, the more hurt and devastated she looked. Her hazel eyes filled with tears, and she suddenly began shaking with silent sobs.

“... Cassie?” Varian asked softly, “what…?”

“It’s my dad,” she managed, “he… He’s gone.”


	10. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra returns to Corona.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Already working on chapter ten-- if I finish it soon, which I should, it'll be my fourth chapter this March!-- and then I'll only have to write the epilogue.
> 
> These chapters are a little on the "meh" side, I guess. Not my best writing, and at times I'd sit and ask myself what the heck it was. I hope this suffices, though.
> 
> One last thing, a fun fact for you guys. One section of this was taken directly from a draft that I wrote back in August of 2018. It was nice to get to revisit that piece for this chapter.

**The Price of Love**

* * *

It was almost as if time had suddenly stopped. Cassandra couldn’t believe the words in front of her, even as she read them again and again. She could feel her enitre body trembling, could feel the tears building up. She didn’t fight it.

“He’s gone,” she murmured again, “oh, god…”

Varian frowned slightly, moving closer to her. “... Cass?”

She let go of the paper, slowly reaching to cover her mouth. Suddenly, she felt light-headed and sick to her stomach. She knew that it had only been a matter of time, but still… She hadn’t been ready for the day that it really happened.  
Varian reached over to take her in his arms, holding her close to him. “Oh, Cass…”

Subconsciously, she moved into his touch, craving the minor comforts provided by his presence. All she could feel was shock and hurt. He was the only parent she had ever known, and now… He was simply _gone_.

Varian gently stroked Cassandra’s hair, holding her close. He could feel her hands on his back, grasping for a hold, _any_ hold. His heart broke for her; he could feel her anguish and heartbreak. And not just because he could feel her tears soaking through his shirt.

He didn’t want her to hurt. He cared for her _so much_, and seeing her in pain like this… It killed him. He moved one hand so that he could rub her back, too. Cass sniffled a little, relaxing at his gentle touch.

Varian smiled softly, glad that he could help her somewhat calm down. “Shh… Hey, hey… Cassie…”

She let out a small sigh, resting her head on his chest. Almost immediately after doing this, she pulled away so that she could see him better. She was close to being done with her tears, though one last one escaped. Varian instinctively reached to wipe the tear away. His hand lingered near her face and, much to the surprise of both of them, she leaned into the touch slightly.

“I have to go home,” she murmured suddenly, “I… I need to be there for the funeral.”

The last few days had been extremely hard on her, and this was just the final punch to the gut.

Her voice sounded watery as she continued. “As much as I’d like to find Trystan… As important as finding her _is_…”

Cass couldn’t continue; if she said one more word, she knew she’d break down yet again. And she did _not_ want that to happen, not now. Not when she had to put on a strong front and tell the other two when they woke up. She took a deep breath in, silently praying for strength. She then pulled away from Varian.

“I… Thank you,” she muttered to him before leaning back against the wall.

“You’re welcome.”

Slowly but surely, the usual sounds of morningtime began filling the cave, alongside sunlight. The sun was a welcome relief, after two straight days of not seeing it at all. Craig and Jonah woke up, looking a little startled to see Cassandra so casually leaning against the wall… Though maybe not so casually. It was evident that she was fighting back tears, despite the fact that she was obviously trying to hide it.

“... Cass?” Jonah asked cautiously, “are… Are you okay?”

She sighed slightly, waiting for Craig to also come to his full senses. “You’ll have to continue the search without me. I might join you guys again later, but for now… I have to be at home.”

“What?” Craig asked, “why?!”

“I… I just received word that my father has passed away, so… I would like to be back in Corona for the funeral.”

_Maybe take some time to recoup from everything…_

Craig nodded. “I get that. I still wish that there could have been a proper funeral for my parents…”

After he said those words, he visibly clammed up. His past… It wasn’t something he usually talked about. And it wasn’t something he felt up to discussing at this given time.

They ate their breakfast in silence for a bit, and only spoke again once Cass had finished.

“I should probably get going,” she said quietly, “the sooner I get home, the better.”

With those words, she immediately stood, beginning to quickly get Maximus ready for the trip back. Once that was done with, she climbed up onto the horse.

“Hey, Cass?”

She looked down at Varian. “Yeah?”

“Stay safe, alright?”

“I will,” she said, tone gentle, “hell, I’ll send Owl if there’s anything I need or something.”

He laughed a little, reaching to gently squeeze her hand. “Alright. And we’ll keep on searching for Trys.”

Cass smiled softly. “... Thank you.”

She then turned to look at the other two. “Varian’s in charge from here on out, unless the search goes on even after I return. Please, show him the respect you showed me.”

The other two saluted, and Cass nodded. “Good.”

Then she leaned forward to urge Max to go. They were off.

* * *

_Cassandra was propped up amongst a huge pile of pillows. As much as she felt like closing her eyes and going to sleep, though, she couldn’t. Guard tryouts would be wrapping up soon, and she knew that her father would definitely want to come visit her and to meet the baby for the first time._

_Besides, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the little one. Not for too long, at least._

_Just then, there was a soft knock at the door before it slowly swung open, revealing the captain of the guard. Immediately, his gaze fell on his daughter and the little bundle in her arms._

_“... Cassandra.”_

_“Dad,” she replied quietly, motioning him over, “come on in.”_

_Kade hesitantly moved forward, closer to her. He was still rather uncertain of the whole entire scenario, but he had to admit to the fact that he was definitely curious, and somewhat excited, to meet his grandkid. Cass was smiling warmly at him before refocusing on her newborn baby girl. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before looking at her father again._

_“Do you… Do you want to hold her?” she asked softly, already readjusting the baby in her arms, “or do you need to go somewhere now that you’ve stopped by?”_

_“If I may…”_

_He reached to take the baby in his arms, making sure that she was secure in his hold before allowing himself to actually look at her. Almost immediately, he was transfixed by all of her tiny little features._

_“... The midwife says that she’s perfectly fine and healthy despite being a week early,” Cass said softly, “so… That’s always a good thing.”_

_Kade nodded, still focused on the infant. “And her name?”_

_Cass made a face. That was the one aspect that she hadn’t really given much thought to. The one aspect that probably needed an answer right now. She looked over at her daughter once more, her mind automatically supplying a suggestion._

_“... Trystan. Trystan Elyzabeth.”_

_He nodded again. “Trystan.”_

_Trys readjusted herself just then, seeking some warmth in her grandfather’s chest. He smiled a little, a rare event that eventually became a little more common over the two months that followed. Somehow, that little baby girl had already wormed her way into his heart in an alarming amount of time._

_He took a seat in the chair near Cassandra’s bed, still cradling Trystan close. “Why don’t you get some rest, Cass? I can watch over her for a few hours…”_

_But when he looked up, he saw that his daughter was already fast asleep, nestled into her pile of pillows just as the baby was nestled in his arms. His eyes filled with warmth as he smiled again, returning his focus on the newborn in his arms._

* * *

A day and a half. That’s how long it took for Cassandra to return to Corona, even without a ton of stops like she made on the way out. She took no time for rest-- she could do that when she got home, and maybe after talking to a few people-- though she _did_ take some brief breaks simply to sustain herself and Maximus with whatever food and drink she could find at that given moment. But still, she wasn’t going to stop until she got home. At least now, she knew exactly where she was headed.

Finally, she crossed the bridge into the kingdom. Max automatically began heading up the hill, through the streets, until they ended up at the front door of the palace. Much to her surprise, Rapunzel and Eugene were standing just outside, seeming to be waiting for her.

She hopped off of Max, patting his flank as means of dismissal.

“Cass!”

Immediately, the princess’s arms were wrapped tightly around Cass in one of her infamous bear hugs.

“I thought you guys were on your honeymoon,” Cass managed.

Rapunzel pulled away. “Yeah… Well, we kind of heard about the drama with Trystan and…”

“Don’t tell me that you came home just because of _that_. Seriously, Raps…”

“Did you expect any different of her?” Eugene asked, smirking slightly, “for shame, Cassandra!”

She stuck her tongue out at him, though she knew that he wasn’t wrong.

“Did you guys find her?” Rapunzel asked suddenly, “surely you didn’t come all the way back here without her…”

She kept on peering out towards the kingdom down below, like she seriously expected to see another person coming up the streets on a horse, carrying Trystan in their arms.

“No, we… We haven’t found her yet. But I got the news about my dad and I… I…”

She hated this. As much as she didn’t want to leave the search, even temporarily, she knew that she would ultimately regret it if she didn’t return home for the funeral. But now that she was here… It was all hitting her. Hard.

“Yeah…” Rapunzel said softly, “we’re sorry about your loss, Cass.”

All that Cass could manage was a nod. Already, this was turning out to be… Not terribly easy. She was already having trouble processing the fact that he was gone in the first place, and spending some time here… It was just going to make it all the more harder.

“Can we just… Get inside?” she asked suddenly, “I’m long overdue for a bath, and then we can catch up after.”

Rapunzel bit her lip but nodded. “Yeah. Of course.”

Eugene put his hand on her shoulder, offering her a small smile. He knew that his wife was at least somewhat worried for her best friend, and he could understand it completely. But he also knew that a lot of people-- including Cassandra-- tended to need a break from the princess’s bright demeanor at times, and especially so when they were going through a bit of a rough patch. They just needed to give Cass some space.

Cass offered a thin smile and darted inside and up to her room, grabbing a change of clothes before heading off to take the aforementioned bath.

* * *

Cassandra had hoped that the bath would relax her, help her clear her mind a little. She had so much on her plate already, and it just kept piling up… Surely a nice, warm bath would help remedy that, at least a little.

She was wrong, though. From the moment she had entered the tub to the very second she stepped out of it, she could still feel the stress and pressure being put on her… All of it. From her father to her daughter, there was too much that was happening.

She got out of the bath, quickly drying herself off and slipping into her new outfit. It felt kind of nice to be in something else for a change. Her other outfit could probably stand on its own, with how often she had worn it over the past week or so.  
She noticed herself in the mirror on the wall and studied her reflection. Normally, she’d see a strong woman, eyes alight with life and fight. But the woman looking at her right now was not the same person; this woman looked torn and broken, and just… _Lost_.

She sighed a little, studying herself once more before turning away. She was no longer the Cassandra she used to be. Too much had changed for her to even _hope_ that everything could return to somewhat normal. She couldn’t wish her daughter away, just as she couldn’t wish her father back. She also knew that she couldn’t wish for Varian to stop feeling the way he felt for her.

Cass quickly straightened out the hem of her dress before heading out, seeking out either Rapunzel or one of the guards; whoever she came across first. Which happened to be both, seeing as the princess was busy conversing with both Stan and Pete in the middle of the hallway.

She walked up to them. “Hey. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“No, not at all!” Rapunzel said, offering her friend a kind smile.

She wrapped an arm around Cass’s shoulders, pulling her close.

“So… I just wanted to ask about… About, well. You know.”

Cassandra’s voice was wavering dangerously. The men looked at her curiously, but Rapunel understood. She could tell that there was a lot going on with her friend at the moment, and she understood what Cass was asking.

“Why don’t we go to the great hall?” she suggested, “we can sit down and talk there.”

Cass simply nodded, unable to speak around the sudden lump that had formed in her throat. The small group began making their way to the great hall, ready to talk things over.

“Okay, so… I guess I’ll start with a question,” she finally said once everyone had taken their seat, “when and how did it happen?”

She didn’t want to say what exactly ‘it’ was. Addressing it directly like that… She felt like that would somehow seal the deal, make it final. And she wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye.

“We wrote to you almost as soon as we discovered that he had passed,” Pete said softly, “another heart attack did him in, but… None of us even realized until it was too late.”

She nodded a little. “So… Two nights ago, give or take?”

A collective nod. There was some tension in the room, the gloomy cloud of Kade’s death hovering over everyone. It was kind of the elephant in the room, the topic that they were speaking of but nobody dared to mention directly. Well, unless they happened to be Pete the guard.

“He must have known that it was going to happen,” Stan put in after a few moments of silence, “this was on his nightstand when we found him.”

He pulled out an envelope, sealed and addressed to Cassandra. She reached out to take it from the guard, her hands trembling as she did so. This was the final link she had to her father, his final words to her. It was becoming all the more real to her, his death. And she wasn’t quite sure if she could take it.

“We’ve already got the funeral planned,” Rapunzel put in helpfully, “if you want to look over the plans and give them the okay, or make any changes…”

Cassandra couldn’t answer, though. She was beginning to cry quietly, covering her mouth as if that would somehow stop the silent tears from flowing. She shook her head, trying to convey the fact that she’d be okay without seeing the plans. Maybe if she just avoided looking at them, and didn’t look inside the envelope… Maybe she’d be able to pretend that he _wasn’t_ gone. That this was all just part of some bad dream.

“Maybe you should get some rest, Cass,” Rapunzel suggested after a moment, “if you want, we can talk again later. But I know you’re still trying to process everything here, and that this is all new to you… And so much has been happening lately, especially to you. Allow yourself at least a little bit of sleep, okay? For me?”

Cass narrowed her eyes a little but caved when she saw just how much concern was written on her friend’s face. “Raps… Fine. But only for a little bit.”

“Thank you.”

Cass stood, taking leave from the room and heading to her own chambers. Though she had spent many years calling this bedroom hers and only hers, it now felt odd to be in it without her daughter. Funny how, in such a short time, Trystan had become this small pillar in her life. This important fundamental foundation of sorts.

_Don’t think on that, Cass,_ she chided herself mentally, _don’t think on anything. Just… Do what Raps said. Get some rest._  
_She quickly changed into her pajamas and laid down on her bed. And just like that, she was out like a light._

* * *

She wished she could say that she slept peacefully that night, but to say that would be a blatant lie. She was haunted by memories turned into dreams, recycled images playing through her mind. Vince roughly taking her wrists in his hands as he pressed her against the wall, smirking victoriously. Trystan smiling and gurgling happily until Eugene made a loud noise across the room, causing the infant to start screaming and crying uncontrollably. Her father the last time he’d had a heart attack, during a visit from Cass. Except this time, she wasn’t able to manage to get him into the infirmary, or even call for help. Vince was there, forcefully holding her by the shoulders and keeping her in her seat. She had to watch as the life and fight slowly faded out of her father, unable to do anything…

She woke up just then. She was trembling, and her breaths came in short, ragged gasps. She needed air.

Just like the morning that Trystan was kidnapped, Cass didn’t bother with putting anything on. No robe, no slippers; it was just a walk to the courtyard, and her pajamas would suffice.

She began making the short trek down the stairs and out the door, entering into the night. The sky was dark, and the air was cool. The grass beneath her feet was prickly and somewhat damp.

And then she noticed the tree. She remembered when she was younger, climbing everything she possibly could. At one point, she had climbed up that very tree and then realized-- a little too late-- that she couldn’t get down. She had started to cry, despite the fact that she _never_ cried, even as a kid. The sound had gotten the attention of a young maid, who in turn was tasked with getting the captain-- Cassandra didn’t let anyone aside from her father near her. When Kade finally came, he had used a short ladder to reach his daughter. He took her in his arms and whispered several assurances in her ear as he climbed back down…

Cass froze. Memories. Even her fondest memories, like that one… They were being distorted in light of her recent loss.

_No._

She walked up to the tree, putting her hand on it. The next thing she knew, she was beginning to climb the thing, not caring that her feet were bare. A few splinters were nothing. She climbed and she climbed until she reached the section where the trunk branched out into limbs reaching towards the sky. From there, she just… Stood. Looking out at what little bit of the kingdom she could see from up there.

She was home again. But this time, she was completely alone.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we briefly see Varian in charge of the group... And we also see him go feral on Vince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best chapter, I know. I apologize for that.
> 
> I finally finished it and knew I had to post it before going on official extended break. I have no idea when I'll be able to post again, so...

**i. A Vote of Confidence**

* * *

_‘Varian’s in charge from here on out.’_

Cassandra’s words reverberated throughout Varian’s mind. Why would she put _him_ in charge, even temporarily? He knew that she would only leave this to people that she _trusted_, what with just how important finding Trystan was to her. So as honored as her decision made him feel, he couldn’t help but wonder _why_.

“So… What are your orders?” Craig asked him almost immediately after Cass disappeared from their line of sight.

“... Orders?”

Craig nodded. “Every captain gives orders to their men, unless I’m mistaken.”

Varian frowned, thinking. He was unused to having to give orders, leading searches, having to find missing persons… He was unused to all of it.

“We split up,” he said finally, “of all the territories that Cass marked off, we have the largest one. We’d be better off splitting up, each of us taking a smaller sector of land.”

Craig and Jonah both frowned a little. _Split up? Really?!_

“I know it sounds crazy, guys, but if we separately scour these areas, and we’re all _really_ thorough about it… If she’s anywhere around here”-- he gestured at their marked section of the map-- “well, we’re going to find her.”

“Say one of us _does_ find her,” Jonah said, crossing his arms over his chest, “how do we let everyone else who’s searching know to stop?”

“That… That’s a very good question, actually,” Varian admitted, “she never said anything about that…”

“Maybe… We’ve got flares,” Craig said, “each group has multiple flares. So, we can take our own and, y’know, set it off if we happen to find her...”

“Craig, you are a _genius_!” Varian exclaimed with a somewhat manic grin, “how did I not think of that before?!”

“Because you were too busy focusing on the orders that your girlfriend gave.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Varian opened his mouth to retort before shaking his head. “Look, as much as I’d love to debate this… Trystan’s still out there. We have to find her, for Cassandra. Hand me the map, please.”

Craig handed the map over, and Varian studied it closely. He could easily tell where the boundary lines went to mark the section into almost-equal thirds, but… How was he supposed to show that to the others?

“We have a few extra maps,” Jonah offered, “in case you were wondering.”

“How about a writing utensil?” he asked.

Craig had already pulled out two extra maps and a quill, offering them to Varian. The young alchemist took them, took a brief second to blow the bangs out of his face, and then quickly set to work.

* * *

Less than an hour after that, the three men had separated.

I won’t bore you with any of their journeys, seeing as they encountered miles upon miles of nothingness while being completely alone. But I _will_ tell you, as I probably should, that by the end of the day, Varian had reached a definite location, somewhere to at least _stay_, if not search for Trystan.

This location was a small cottage, secluded from all other society. A little ways away from the cottage was a small farmhouse, but Varian didn’t pay much mind to that.

Instead, he got off of Fidella-- somehow, he had ended up with one of Cassandra’s favorite horses-- and went up to the front door of the cottage. He hesitantly knocked, half-expecting an immediate, annoyed response.

He got nothing.

He tried again, and was surprised when he heard a noise coming from _behind_ him when he did.

“You know the meeting isn’t _here_, right? It’s in the barn, newb.”

_Meeting?_

Varian raised an eyebrow but decided to play along. “I… Thanks for the pointer.”

As soon as the other man had passed and gone into the barn, the alchemist began to think. There was a chance-- a real crapshoot of a chance, if he was being completely honest-- that the meeting had something to do with _his_ mission. And if it didn’t, well, he could always just play it off as him trying to find the owner of the property to ask if he could stay the night or something like that.

Quickly, he readjusted his goggles so that they held his bangs back. He prayed that they could hide the blue streak in his hair, and that nobody would recognize him with or without the streak. And then he began making his way to the barn, ready to drop in on this meeting.

* * *

It wasn’t that hard for Varian to sneak into the meeting. All he needed was a passcode, which he had been able to pick up thanks to eavesdropping. Once he got inside, he decided to linger near the back of the small crowd of people. He didn’t quite know what to expect of this meeting, and if it ended up being a crock of shit, well, he could easily just head out the door right behind him.

There were some small conversations up until a man-- someone who looked to be around Cassandra’s age, Varian noticed-- stepped up front and began speaking.

“Welcome, fellow Sons,” the man began, “I see some new faces here tonight.”

Varian was grateful for the fact that he was in the shadows, and that nobody even bothered to look around and try to find the newcomers. He was under the radar… For now.

“I have good news and bad news for you tonight,” he continued, “the bad news being the fact that the young girl is _not_, in fact, the Child of the Moon.”

Several soft murmurs rippled through the group, but the man held up his hands to silence them almost immediately. At this point, Varian’s interest was piqued. _Young girl? Child of the Moon?_

“And the good news?” a voice near Varian piped up.

He smiled. “I thought you’d never ask. The good news is that we have confirmation that both Harnessers are on the hunt. They’re about a day or two out now--”

“Actually,” a woman chimed in, “we received word that the woman has started a return journey as of this morning.”

Varian’s brow furrowed. This all sounded awfully familiar…

“Cassandra,” he whispered under his breath.

“She did?” the man asked, frowning, “damn. Well, at least the other Harnesser is still out there. He should be here soon enough.”

“What do we do with the little girl?” another member asked, “and with the old man?”

_Old man?_

“We continue to hold them both hostage, as bait for my little brother,” he said firmly, “he’ll realize sooner or later that I have both of them, his friend’s daughter as well as his father.”

Varian’s eyes narrowed slightly. Just _what_ was going on here?

“Vince, this is insane. You know that, right?”

The alchemist frowned. _Vince_. The name of Cassandra’s ex. Trystan’s father. That much was clear now. But it gave him no decisive answer on anything else, though.

A few more words were spoken, and then everyone was dismissed. Varian thought for a minute before going up front to speak with the man who had hurt Cassandra.

* * *

**ii. Confrontation**

* * *

Varian knew that it was a stupid idea to go up to Vince without any ideas or plans whatsoever. But still, he did it, hoping that something would come to him on the fly.

He cautiously approached the strange man. “... Excuse me.”

“Should’ve known at least one of you newcomers would come up to me with questions,” Vince said softly, hardly even bothering to look over at Varian, “what do you want, kid?”

He frowned. “I’m not a kid. But… That little girl you kidnapped. The one you’re using as bait? She_ is_ a kid. And she needs to be with her mother.”

“Oh? You think you can come onto _my_ property and then… And then _preach_ to me?”

“Yes, actually. I kind of do.”

Varian didn’t really care whether or not he pissed this man off. In fact, he kind of hoped that he _did_; he was angry at Vince for everything that Cassandra had told him, and for everything that he had just witnessed in that meeting.

Vince looked up at him, trying to study the face of this insolent young man. His dark eyes widened slightly when he saw Varian, almost as if he _recognized_ him.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Varian James Vatter.”

“You… You know my name?”

“Of course I do,” Vince responded, “rogue alchemist of Old Corona. Such a pity the son of their most influential figure turned down such a dark path.”

“Let me get this straight. You know my name-- my _full_ name, mind you-- because… Because I went crazy with grief a few years back?”

Vince stood up. “Let me tell you a story, kid.”

Varian scowled a little at the title but went silent anyways.

“Many years back, there was a man. The man had a wife, and they had a son together. When their son was around six or seven years old, the wife discovered that her husband had been cheating on her with a beautiful young woman from the next village over. At the discovery, the wife began to quickly pack all of her belongings, and those of her son, before leaving the man for good. The man did absolutely nothing to fight, nothing to try and win them back. In fact, he was remarried within two months of being left by her. The new woman bore him yet another son, one whom he treasured deeply and dearly. Eventually, the woman died before the second son’s first birthday.”

There was silence after these words.

“Umm… Very interesting story,” Varian managed after a while, “but I don’t exactly see why you’re telling it to me.”

“Maybe you will when I provide you the names, hmm?” Vince suggested, “the man’s name was Quirin.”

Varian blinked. “I… _What_?”

“The first wife’s name was Sarah, and the second wife’s name was Ellianna. Of course, the second son was you.”

“... And the first son?” Varian tentatively asked, though he felt that he knew the answer already.

“A man named Vincent,” he supplied, “or, in the vernacular… Me.”

Varian wanted to sit, to process all of this. But he knew that he couldn’t do this; he was so close to reaching Trystan, to retrieving her and getting to bring her home… He couldn’t take any breaks or get distracted like this. He couldn’t afford to waste any time like that.

“So… You gave me a little shoutout in your speech there,” Varian finally said, “you said you were using Trystan and my dad as bait. Where are they?”

In hindsight, he should have asked different questions. Questions like _why_, or _how dare you_ often appeared in his mind when he remembered this moment. Or even a simple yet firm _let them go._

Vince snorted derisively. “You really think that I’d tell you where I have them, little bro? What kind of idiot do you take me for?”

“We may have the same father,” Varian said coolly, deciding to focus on just _how_ Vince had addressed him, “but I’m honestly not buying it. Frankly, I’m not impressed. I wasn’t sold from the get-go, with Cassandra’s stories about you… Being in your presence isn’t that much better.”

“So, ‘Sandra’s been dragging my name through the mud, eh?”

“For good reason!” he responded, a little hotly, “you… You _hurt_ her! You’ve given her a scar she’ll have to bear for the rest of her life, something she can _never_ be rid of…”

“And what about that makes _me_ the bad guy?” he asked, his voice a quiet challenge, “maybe I had good reason to do what I did.”

“And what ‘good reason’ would that be?” Varian asked, angered, “that… That ‘Child of the Moon’ shit?”

“Exactly. Surely Dad’s told you the legends.”

“... Yes, he has. But that doesn’t explain…”

Vince smirked a little at his confusion. “We would like to be the first to the Child, to be the ones to claim them as ours.”

“For their supposed powers,” Varian said, suddenly realizing, “and you thought that, since she had used the Moon Stone… You thought that her having a kid would automatically mean finding the Child. You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Made sure she stayed with you up until you were absolutely _certain_ she was pregnant with Trystan, and then you just left her, figuring you could get Trys later.”

The older man nodded. “Smart, right? Except for the fact that it didn’t quite get the end result I had been hoping for…”

“Except _everything_!” Varian burst out angrily, “what you did to her… That was horrible, and absolutely _sick_! Cassandra is an amazing woman, and you… You_ used_ her on the off-chance that you’d gain some sort of advantage in your search?!”

At this point, the younger of the two was trembling with rage. His hands were both clenched in tight fists, and his face was an angry red. Even if it _wasn’t_ Cassandra that they were talking about… It wasn’t right.

“Maybe so,” Vince admitted, “but do I look like the kind of person who gives a crap about other people and how they feel?”

Varian frowned. This definitely made things a lot harder…

“What will it take to get you to let them go? Dad and Trystan, that is.”

“I know who you’re talking about,” Vince said with a roll of his eyes, “and easy. The girl clearly isn’t the Child of the Moon, but I still have reason to believe that they are currently alive. And I also have reason to believe that it’s either you or ‘Sanda.”

Varian’s brow furrowed. “So… I let you test me, see if I’m the stupid Child or not, and you’ll let them go?”

“Not quite,” he corrected, “if you’re not the Child, I’m going to have to ask you to bring dear old ‘Sandra to me so I can test her, too.”

Varian’s eyes narrowed.

“What? Doesn’t sound fair enough?” Vince sneered, “it’s a simple trade, really. Yourself-- maybe your friend, too-- for the little girl and Quirin…”

He shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

It was already quite a trade, and there was no guarantee of his own fate, or Cass’s, or anyone’s. There were no guarantees whatsoever.

“Oh?”

Varian bit his lip but continued on. “Yes. And… I’m going to have to ask you to step down.”

He was already reaching for his weapon, an extra sword that Cass had been carrying around and allowed him to use when she had given the mini-lessons while they were trapped in that cave. Maybe it was time to put those lessons to practice…

“Then you leave me no choice,” Vince sneered, pulling out his own sword.

He was about to make the first move when a young woman burst into the room, looking around frantically. When her gaze settled on Vince, she ran up to him.

“Vince!”

“_What_, Gertrude?” he asked, looking more than a little irritated by this sudden interruption, “I’m kind of busy right now.”

“Vince… The house. It’s on fire.”

He blinked. “Oh, god…”

“That’s not all,” Gertrude continued, “your ‘hostages’ have escaped.”

“Leave them be. We’ve already got the one Harnesser here. If we need the other one, we can just use _him_ as bait.”

Gertrude nodded, rushing back outside to start working on trying to stop the inferno. Vince looked ready to follow suit, but he suddenly remembered Varian. He quickly grabbed some rope that was conveniently hanging on the barn wall and forcefully ushered his half-brother to a chair.

“I hate to do this to you, Varian”-- anyone could tell that _that_ was a huge bluff on his part-- “but I know it’s the only way to keep you put.”

He began to tie Varian to the chair, planning to simply tie both his wrists to the seat, but was interrupted by a loud scream from outside.

_“Vince!”_

Immediately, he dropped everything and ran outside, completely forgetting about Varian.

Only one wrist had been tied down at that point, so Varian set to work using his free hand to work on the bit of rope. Once he was completely free, he stood and quickly located a back entrance to the barn, and he ran.

* * *

**iii. Homeward Bound**

* * *

Varian honestly didn’t think that he would have to watch where he was going as he bolted out of the barn. There was absolutely nothing out there; why would he have to watch out?

He was proven wrong, though, when he ran into something._ Hard._

A small grunt emerged from whatever it was that he had run into. It took Varian a minute or so to recover from the impact, but as soon as he did, he looked up at the object that he had collided with.

“... Dad?”

Indeed, Quirin was standing before his son, an impenetrable wall. In his arms, he held a small bundle of blankets.

“Varian,” he said softly, “oh, son…”

Varian was already fighting back tears. It had been _so long_ since he had seen his father… Four years since he had seen him at all, and even longer since he’d last been able to talk to him and have him respond. He bit his lip, trying to hold back the emotions he suddenly felt.

“It… It’s so good to see you again, Dad.”

Even Quirin looked like he was going to break down, at least a little bit. “It’s good to see you, too…”

And then Varian’s eyes landed on the blankets in his father’s arms. “Is that… Trystan?”

“That was the name I was told,” he said softly, “you know her?”

“She’s the reason I’m out here right now, yeah. Cass is gonna be absolutely thrilled to have her back…”

He cautiously reached to take Trystan from his father, holding her close to his chest.

“So she _is_ Lady Cassandra’s daughter?”

Varian nodded. “Yeah, she’s Cassie’s little girl.”

Quirin looked about ready to say something more, but was distracted by the cloud of smoke that was currently in the sky. “... We should probably get going before anything else happens.”

Varian nodded. “I’ve got one of the palace horses out here. We just have to get to her and… Go.”

“Okay. Lead the way.”

* * *

Vince and Gertrude were on the opposite side of the house to where Varian had left Fidella earlier. Thank heavens for that; it made it quite a bit easier to sneak off. But before that… He let Quirin get on the horse and handed Trystan back to him.

“I’ll be right back. I have to let the others know that I found her.”

“... Others?”

But Varian didn’t hear his father’s question, already rifling through his stuff for the flare. The house fire made the perfect way to start the flare up…

He found it and quickly set it up, taking the torch from his supplies and lighting it with the flames from the house. He then used the torch to ignite the flare, hopped onto Fidella, and they began heading out. Towards home.

* * *

Cassandra was sitting on Rapunzel’s windowseat, looking out over Corona. She _had_ been talking with her best friend earlier, but the princess had to leave for… Something or other. Cass didn’t know.

The funeral had been that morning, and most of it was a blur in her mind. All that she could really remember was the numb feeling she had experienced throughout most of it. The feeling that had worn off while she was up front, giving her own little eulogy, and she broke down crying in the midst of it. She remembered Rapunzel and Eugene helping her keep her footing as she went back to her seat, and the princess holding her close throughout the rest of the ceremony. She remembered a lot of people, mainly guards who had trained under Kade, coming up and telling her just how good of a man he was, and expressing their condolensces. Other than that… Nothingness occupied that time in her mind.

And now, she just felt numb and lonely.

She watched as people milled about down in the streets, going about their normal everyday lives like nothing had happened. Part of her was angry. These were the people her father had spent his entire _life_ protecting, and this was how they went about the day of his funeral? On the other hand, though… She was somewhat jealous. Jealous that they could go about their business in spite of this. She wished she could do that right now, go back to normal activities and forget the feeling of numb and nothing.

And then she froze. The people suddenly _weren’t_ milling about town. Instead, they were moving in waves to the sides of the road, away from something. She squinted, but try as she might, she couldn’t make out just what was going on.

She stood up, heading downstairs to the palace’s main balcony. Maybe she could get a better view from there…  
It took a few minutes, but she finally saw what all the fuss was about: two men, one skinny and short and the other tall and broad, were riding through the kingdom on horseback, at full speed.

She frowned a little, wondering just what was going on.

The sun caught on something glass, on top of the skinny man’s head. _Goggles?_

Her slight frown lifted a little when she realized that they were indeed goggles, worn by a man with jet-black hair. Well, except for the section where the black broke off into a streak of blue. _Varian._

As they came closer, and as she thought about it more, she was able to make out recognizable features. The horse’s brown fur and black mane. _Fidella_. The other man’s maroon shirt and furry vest, the slight greys mixed in with the black of his hair. … _Quirin?_ In his arms, a small bundle of blankets which could only be one thing…

“Trystan,” she whispered.

She picked up her skirts and ran down the ramp, ready to meet them head-on.

Again, it took a few minutes. But finally, they cleared the castle gates. Immediately, Varian saw Cass and smiled. He brought Fidella to a halt, allowing his father-- it really _was_ Quirin!-- to climb off first before getting off himself.

Cass was already with Quirin, taking Trystan from his arms and asking rapidfire questions about both himself-- how he had managed to get out of the amber, and where he had been since then, among others-- and how Trystan had held up. Quirin kept to the simple answers, deciding that it would be best to not divulge about the Sons just yet. Maybe later that night…

She thanked him profusely before turning to Varian. He had watched the entire thing with a small smile on his face and looked rather surprised at the fact that attention was now on him.

Cassandra smiled at him. “... Thank you, Var.”

“Var,” he repeated, chuckling a little, “I like that.”

She laughed lightly. “I just figured… You get to call me ‘Cassie’ all the time, so… Why not shorten your name?”

For some reason, that made him smile brightly, his little buck-toothed grin. She smiled again before letting instinct take over. For whatever reason, that instinct told her to hold Trystan in one arm and use the other one to pull Varian in for a chaste kiss before holding him in a tight embrace.

Varian blinked, thoroughly surprised by this. And then he smiled a little, returning the hug. It felt… _Natural. Right_. And maybe… Maybe he stood a chance.

Only time would tell.


	12. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai finishes out this story in a short, sweet, but hopefully satisfactory way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this epilogue and then... I kind of let it sit. This quarantine is really just sucking, but hey.
> 
> Today's my little sister's birthday, I'm completely exhausted and on edge... Why not update?

**Happily Ever After, After All?**

* * *

_Three Months Later_

Trystan met Cassandra's gaze and coked quietly. Cass chuckled a little, taking the infant in her arms.

"Let's get you ready for the feast, hmm?" she asked, "everyone's going to be there, and they're going to want to hold you the entire time and keep you away from me... And I'm going to have to let them."

Trystan squealed loudly and then gurgled, smiling the entire time. Cass laughed before setting about dressing her daughter up. Almost as soon as she finished getting Trys ready, there was a knock at the door. Immediately, Cass knew who it was.

"Come on in, Varian."

Over the past three months, whatever time that Varian spent outside of his time at Marcus's-- cut down to around three days a week-- was spent with Cass and Trystan.

It was kind of odd, honestly, spending nearly as much time with him as she used to with Rapunzel or even Eugene. But she wasn't going to deny the fact that he _was _her friend, and that it really warmed her heart to see Varian around her five-month-old. He was gentle and kind-- with the both of them, actually-- and treated Trystan almost like she was his own. He acted almost exactly like the father that she needed and deserved.

And he wasn't the worst guy to have around, either...

Varian entered the room, smiling warmly at Cass before heading over to where Trys was propped up by all of Cass's pillows. He picked her up in his arms, grinning when she started 'talking' to him.

Cass watched the scene with a small smile before ducking away to get herself ready. She could trust him with Trys; he had definitely proven that to her.

Once she had finished, she stepped back into the room.

Varian immediately looked up at her and smiled softly. "Cass... You look amazing."

She snorted. "Thanks, Var, but I think you need to get your eyes checked."

He shook his head. "I can see just fine."

She smiled a little, unsure of just how to answer.

"Hey, I... I nearly forgot," he said suddenly, his tone suddenly turning soft and timid, "you remember our conversation from a few months ago? Just before the letter came?"

Cass tensed. '_It's just... Ever since I first saw you, I liked you. A lot, and probably a lot more than I should have...'_

"... Yeah."

She wasn't looking at him, but she could hear his sharp intake of breath. Like he was steeling himself for something big, something out of his comfort zone. She frowned, mentally preparing to let him down gently, in a kinder manner than earlier.

But at the same time... _Hear him out._

"Cassie... What I said before. All of that still holds true. I know you're probably going to react the same way you did back then, but still, I... I have to tell you how I feel."

Another deep breath from him. "I... I love you, Cass. And the argument you gave earlier, about us hardly knowing each other, well, that's kind of invalid now."

She was listening now, allowing his words to sink in.

"So... I thought I'd give this a shot. I'd rather do that and get rejected than not try at all."

Slowly, Cass turned to face him. As placid and blank as her face looked, she was somewhat curious. But more than that... She was at war with herself. Would it be worth it to give it a shot? To allow him-- and perhaps even herself-- to believe that _they _were a possibility?

"You're asking me out," she said softly, cutting to the chase.

Varian blinked, looking a little shocked that she had taken this bull by the horns. "I... Yeah?"

When she looked at his face, she saw everything that he wanted and needed to say written in his ever-expressive blue eyes: his adoration for her, and his hope that she would say yes, among many other things. She sighed a little, knowing already just what part of her own inner debate had won over.

"... I'm willing to give it a shot," she said finally, "I can't promise that it'll work out or anything, but... I can try."

He blinked again, the words slowly hitting him in full meaning.

A smile slowly crept across his face. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Now, we can talk about this later, okay? For now... We have a feast to get to."

* * *

"Fellow Sons," Vince's loud, authoritative voice boomed throughout the barn, "time has passed. We have lost our leads in the search for the Child, but I assure you, we will find them again."

Murmurs of assent mixed with small cheers at the words. Vince held up his hands to silence them.

"And I assure you, brothers, that we will not stop until we find the true Child. We will do what we have to in order to find them."

He was absolutely convinced that he had been somewhat on the right track earlier... And nothing would stop him until he found the truth.

_Nothing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look for a short "Interlude" piece coming soon, to be followed by book two, which is tentatively called "Family Ties."


End file.
